That Summer
by xxHeadInTheStarsxx
Summary: It was Chad's tradition to have a summer romance. Date the girl in June; dump her in August. But when a bet forces him to choose Sonny to be his girlfriend this summer, he finds breaking up with her harder than he expected. Chad/Sonny HIATUS
1. Prologue: His Mustang and Your Pride

**A/N: **HEY THERE! Yes, I know. I'm still alive and well! And my summer has just began... and you know what that means ;) NEW STORY! YAY!

* * *

**Prologue** - _His__ Mustang and Your Pride_

There were two ways I knew that it was the beginning of summer.

1. I could feel the immense heat outside even though the A/C was blasting throughout my house.

2. My butler, Bernard, did not come into my room to wake me up so I could get ready for another day at the studio.

I smiled into my pillow before stretching and getting up. What a wonderful way to start things off, right? I blinked away the sleep then turned to my clock that read 1:57 p.m. It was the first day of summer, and I began my day by waking up after noon. Such a classic.

As if it was planned, my first phone began to ring. I grabbed it from my nightstand and answered it with my usual, "CDC here!"

"You seriously have to get your butt out of your bed and come over! I'm at the beach right now and you're seriously missing out on some very promising candidates, if you know what I mean. I've been here all morning and so far every girl that has walked by has already given me her number…or screamed at my face. But I think you're going to miss out unless you get here." I heard Devon on the other line.

I smirked and got up. He didn't need to tell me twice. "What the heck were you doing at the beach in the morning? Don't you know that the meaning of summer is to sleep in as late as you want without getting interrupted? You should try it sometime." I said into the phone as I walked into my bathroom.

"And miss out on bikini season? I'm stupid but not an idiot, Chad." I could just feel Devon rolling his eyes.

"Whatever, I'll be there in ten. Scope out some girls for me, will ya?"

"With pleasure."

After we hung up, I smiled at perfect me into the mirror. I texted Bernard to lay out my clothes on my bed before I climbed into the shower.

So here's the thing: it's summer, which means I need to get my summer fling. It was a tradition for me, if you will. Every summer, a girl had the privilege to be at my arm and have my (somewhat) full attention for the following few months or so. It was nothing but publicity, really. The press loves summer romances for some odd reason, so my manager tells me to "date" a cute girl then dump her before filming resumes. It was just business. No hard feelings.

The summer of '07 I had Emma Roberts. God, she was smokin' but kind of crazy. Let's just say that I was glad to have her off my back. Then '08 was all about Ashley Tisdale. Sure, she's a bit older than me, but it's always been every guy's dream to date an older woman. And God, every aspect of my dream came true. In '09 I had the honor of dating the beautiful Taylor Swift. A few words of advice, my fellow men: don't _ever _date her if she's only going to be a two-to-three month fling.

And now it's 2010, and I need a new girl at my side to smile at the cameras with me.

By the time I got ready and traveled to Venice Beach, it was a little passed 2:30. I found Devon talking to some girl with a sprayed tan, bleached blonde hair that was obviously dyed, and green eyes. Dang. What has this girl done to herself? Whatever, Devon looked interested. His problem to deal with, not mine.

Devon does the same thing in the summer as well. Find a girl in the beginning of June, date her, then dump her before the end of August where we start filming for MacKenzie Falls again. People like Ferguson and our other male cast mates think what we do is pointless since we're technically _pretending _to date these girls, but then again, they're the ones who get no publicity at all for three months straight. It's better to be under a small light than no light at all.

"Hey, dude," I greeted Devon then smiled at the wannabe before us.

"Oh, Lara, this is Chad-" Devon began to introduce us but was cut off with a shrilly scream that cut through my ears.

"Chad Dylan Cooper! Yes, I'm _such _a big fan!" Leona, Leah, Lira, whatever her name is, squealed.

"Well, isn't that flattering." I replied back, feigning appreciation. I subtly gave Devon a look, telling him to ditch the girl.

"Um, well, it was nice talking to you, Lara, but Chad and I have to go." Devon bid the fan girl goodbye.

"Bye, Lila!" I waved at her then grabbed Devon's arm and dragged him away.

"Dude, what was wrong with her? She's hot!" Devon complained.

"She's a _fake_. You know how much fakers annoy me." I glared.

"Yeah, but you're not going to be the one dating her for the next three months. I could have got my girl already! I mean - did you see her butt?"

"Yes, I did see it, and I have two words for ya: plastic surgery. It's the biggest thing in this area." I rolled my eyes. "Plus, if you date _that_, I'm still going to see her everyday because of you, though. Trust me, I did you a favor." I promised him.

Devon rolled his eyes. "Whatever. There are still more girls all around here anyway. Girls who are real, since apparently you're into that stuff." He added a snort to that statement, making me feel like I should have been ashamed of hating fakers.

"Well I do like real girls. They're easier to deal with in the summer instead of wannabes."

"You dated Tay-Tay and look what happened." Devon teased me. My face turned red as my glare hardened. "Wannabes are easier, dude. They tell you everything you want to hear, they do anything for you, and when you tell them that our relationship is done, they'll be the one thinking that they did something wrong instead of the other way around."

"No, dude. Fakers are too annoying. I only date real women, something you haven't accomplished." I sneered.

"Fine, then. Show me your next 'real' woman for the summer. Then when you break up with her at the end, just watch how terrible the outcome will be. Then I'll be right at your side, laughing and telling you 'I told you so!'" Devon said, his voice taunting.

"I'll prove to you that dating a real girl is way easier. Sure, I'll probably not get laid, and I'll probably have her wanting to decapitate me when I break up with her for some lame reason, but at least the dating process is way easier. She won't be annoying, she won't be clingy, and she won't get me bankrupt by spending all my money on my credit cards."

But there was only one problem to this: I live in freaking LA county. The chances of meeting someone real is if I go to the inner-city (which I will never do) or if some perfectly normal girl mysteriously pops into my life out of nowhere. The rest were all like Lola what's-her-face. Fake hair, fake face, fake smile, and just plain _fake_.

"You do realize that you're not going to meet a girl like that here, right?" Devon raised an eyebrow.

It's nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks that.

"C'mon, dude, stop looking at the stereotypes. I know you grew up in D.C., but when you came here, there had to be some legitimately nice people you met."

"Nope. Just a bunch of posers - stupid ones, too. Just face it, Chad. The only way you'll date a real girl is if she didn't grow up here."

"What do you want me to do? Date a tourist? Hell no." I cringed. Tourists are the only people that irritated me more than fakers. They do nothing but take pictures of this polluted city as if 'The City of Angles' really have some importance in it.

"So you need a real girl who has no poser blood in her… and she needs to be a non-Californian… well, she needs to at least be not from LA. Interesting…" Devon smirked deviously.

I did not like the sound of his voice.

"Who do you have in mind?" I asked suspiciously.

I swear Devon's smile right now could have resembled the Grinch's completely. And even though I wanted to punch him in the gut right now, something told me that what I was about to hear was going to make my blood freeze.

"No one special. Just your favorite Random."

…

Oh my God.

"_NO!_" I exclaimed loudly. "There is no way in hell am I going to ask Sonny out!"

"Think about it, Chad. She's the only real girl around here since Taylor - and I know that you are not going to get back with her." Devon snickered.

"Selena Gomez?" I offered.

"She would rather date Miley Cyrus than you…and she's a girl." Devon laughed. The worst part was that he's right.

"Chelsea Staub?" I tried again.

"…Wait…she's hot! Dibs!" Devon said quickly before I could say anything else about her.

"Damn you!" I seethed.

"Snooze ya lose, bro."

"Taylor Momsen?"

"You honestly think you can bring Taylor Momsen home to your mother? She's hot and all, but you're kinda a Momma's Boy, Chad. You wouldn't want mommy to be disappointed in you, now do you?"

"Whatever." I gritted my teeth, my cheeks burning. "How about Demi Lovato?"

"Seriously? She just broke up with that Jonas Brother. You honestly think you have enough 'CDC charm' in ya to be the rebound?"

"Chad Dylan Cooper will be no one's rebound." I stated.

"My point exactly."

"Miranda Cosgrove?"

"What is she - like ten?"

"She's like sixteen or something - oh, forget it." I sighed in defeat.

"Then it looks like your little Sonny is going to be your new girl."

I groaned into my hands. "Fine. I'll ask Sonny out. But she'll say no for sure."

"Oh, no. You said that you were going to show me that dating a real girl is easier. That bet starts from the very moment you ask her out."

"This isn't a bet!"

"It became one once you decided to prove something. If Sonny says no to you then you lose automatically. Get her to say yes, date you until our shows start again, and break up with her _smoothly_, then you win."

"What do I get out of this?" I asked curiously.

"The joy of being a winner." Devon grinned.

"I don't think so." I glared at him. "If I win, that new Mustang your parents bought you for your birthday - _mine_."

I saw Devon flinched for a split-second before he regained his cool posture. His new black Mustang that he got last month was his prized possession. He treated it like it was his child, and he loves it more than he will ever love his little brother. I'm sure he would still go down with that Mustang, seatbelt on and everything, even if it was falling off a cliff.

"Fine. You'll get Natalya."

Oh, and he named it too.

"But, if _I_ win then…then you have to parade around Hollywood Boulevard butt naked-"

"-you've got to be kidding me?"

"_And_ your hair will be shaved off."

My hands immediately flung within the stands of my perfect blonde hair, touching it possessively. He wanted to take my pride _and _my hair away from me? That's just cruel!

"F-fine. I'll do it." I said, trying to sound serious and not afraid whatsoever.

We shook hands on it.

I couldn't help but have my heart beat five hundred times per second. It felt as if my insides were going through roller coasters, and I was ready to throw up. I, Chad Dylan Cooper, was going to ask Sonny Monroe out. And date her. For a whole entire summer … Oh God, help me.

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**A/N: **Well here we have my new story! It's based off of this _amazing_ book I read called "This Lullaby" by Sarah Dessen. And I stole the title "That Summer" from her too xD If you can't tell, she's my new favorite author haha! (Thank you, Hayley, for showing her to me!) I didn't copy the plot, but I did something with the summer-y idea from it. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it!


	2. Slow Dancing is Overrated

**Chapter One** - _Slow Dancing is Overrated_

"_Hey, CDC here! I can't come to the phone right now - probably doing something more important, if you know what I'm talking about, ha. Just leave me a message, and I'll get back to you… maybe." _

"Chad, it's Devon. It's been almost two weeks, and you still haven't talked to the perky Random. You and I both know how hard it'll take to get her to fall for you, and it won't help if you're just stalling. I suggest you make your move…unless you _want _to walk around naked and hairless."

I. Hate. Devon.

But he's right. I really should make my move. It's the second week of June and convincing Sonny to go out with me will surely take time. Of course, I could always ask her to fake date me until August, but Devon would find out eventually and call some sort of foul. (Could there be fouls in bets?) So, no. I'd lose and end up walking around my shattered pride on Hollywood Boulevard - something I'm definitely not looking forward to, thank you very much.

So asking Sonny out was the sole solution I have. That part was easy, though. Just ask her and viola! Step one is complete. The only problem was the answer, which obviously would be a downright no.

I can't charm her or swoon her, and there's no way am I seducing her (as fun as that sounds, Sonny Feminist Monroe might hurt me if I tried). I can't even befriend the girl anymore because she'll assume that I'm up to something… not that I blame her due to the previous, erm, _incidents_.

What to do, oh what to do.

My phone began to ring, signaling a text. I grabbed it and saw that a party was in town and it was being hosted tonight. I raised an eyebrow as I heard opportunity knocking.

I grabbed my other phone (because every teenage celebrity needs two phones, right?) and dialed Sonny's number. She didn't pick up by the first ring - which was rare when it came to me. Anticipation was choking me by the neck. Why the heck wasn't Sonny answering? Thankfully, by the fourth ring, she finally answered me with a, "Chad? What do you want?" in the most confused tone ever.

It was a nice way to answer the phone, wasn't it?

"Well there's a party tonight at Beverly Hills, and I'm just wondering if you wanna go with me." I said smoothly, trying to hide my nervousness.

Silence. Utter silence.

I could just hear my pride cracking and the sound of that razor shaving my beautiful hair off right now.

"Um, excuse me? I think I heard wrong, but I swear I just heard you asking me to a party?" Sonny repeated in a surprised voice.

Hope!

"Aha, yes. You heard right." I replied awkwardly, trying my best not to roll my eyes in this situation.

"As friends? Well, not technically friends. As…well, whatever we are?" Sonny chuckled.

"No…" I drawled like a toddler. I bit my tongue, too scared to even explain further what I had in mind.

A part of me was just screaming at myself to just ask her out properly already. I mean, what was wrong with me? This was supposed to be easy! It was like I was placed in another person's shoes - a geeky, wimpy, lip-virgin person. Another part of me was, dare I say it, _afraid_. Not afraid to ask Sonny out, of course. After all, I'm an expert at this area. I was just afraid of Sonny's answer. Her obvious and life ruining answer.

"Oh," was all I heard come from the other line.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Yep," Sonny agreed.

Jeez. What was up with these one-word sentences?

"So is this a yes or a no?" I asked a bit impatiently, but the timidity was still certain in my voice.

"Um…_why_?" Sonny asked me incredulously.

Why? Not the answer I was looking for. Well, at least it's better than a no.

"Why not?" I retorted cleverly back.

"I never thought you even saw me this way. It's really weird." Sonny said. I forced myself not to defend myself, for that always led to some sort of heavy and pointless argument. "It's just so random, I guess," she added.

"That's the name of your show, isn't it?" I said into the phone.

Sonny laughed. She _laughed_ as if I meant to be hilarious. Ew. That was not the reaction I was expecting either, but then again, Sonny hasn't been giving me what I wanted. So far.

"Well, okay then. I'll be your date." Sonny finally said shyly.

"Great. I'll pick you up at your house tonight at nine," I smiled victoriously.

"See you there."

Once we hung up, it finally dawned on me that Sonny Monroe said yes to me.

I'm going to win this. I'm going to freaking win this!

Suck that, Devon!

* * *

A person might be wondering why I'm sitting in a car with Sonny, of all people, on our way to Beverly Hills at around nine o'clock at night. (And, actually, there are people on the sidewalk who are wondering that as I navigate my way toward the party.) They would probably be staring at us with the biggest 'WTF' look on their faces. (Oddly, they are. Mouths hung open, eyes wide, and everything.) I have a message to those people: go mind your own frickin' business!

If I was nervous before, I can't imagine what I am now. My hands were sweaty as I steered the car, and I couldn't stop shuffling my feet. (Sonny was yelling at me to stop moving or else I'll "crash" into another car and get an "accident." As if. I'm the all-time master at driving!) But still. Timidity was circling around my veins and I really did not enjoy it.

For the umpteenth time, Sonny said, "I swear to God, Chad, if your stupid, beloved car crashes then-"

"Relax, Sonny. Jeez. You sound like my mother." I rolled my eyes, but that didn't stop my body from moving.

Sonny glared at me and folded her arms before looking out her window, her eyes away from me. I can assure you that she's probably wondering why she said yes to this date. Or maybe she's still on the 'why is he even taking me out in the first place?' part because in all of honesty, I gave her the lamest answer to that ever.

I stopped at a red light slowly. I could practically feel the car shaking as my body moved erratically. Sonny took this time to roll the windows down. I glanced over at her. I began to study what she was wearing: A black skirt that rose three inches above the knee - nice. A white and dark gray striped three-quarter sleeved shirt that bared her shoulders a bit - excellent. And finally, her famous heels that could pass off as ugly boots or stupid school shoes - ugh, I'll deal.

"What are you staring at?" Sonny asked suddenly, ripping me away from my gaze.

"What? Uh. Nothing. Nothing at all." I replied, quickly staring at the road once again. I could feel my cheeks heating in embarrassment.

Sonny fumbled in the seat uncomfortably, obviously not believing my answer. "Oh. Sure," she laughed, trying to sound at ease.

Well, at least I'm not the only one freaking out over this.

The light went green, and it took all of my self-control not to floor it. All I wanted to do by now was get to the party so this awkward moment between Sonny and me could finally pass!

"You know, this really isn't like us." Sonny said, adding a little giggle to lighten the mood.

"What do you mean this isn't like us?" I asked with an eyebrow raised. But really, I knew the answer.

"Chad, so far we talked about your horrid driving skills-"

"-hey! My driving skills are perfect for your information!"

"-then we talked about how dangerous you are _inside _the car-"

"-you're the one who worries too much!"

"-we even talked about the WEATHER during one point of this car ride!"

I didn't have anything to say to that because she was right. This was sad. Epically sad.

"Well…it's just first date jitters. You'll get over it." I shrugged.

"What do you mean that _I'll _get over it? I'm sure you're pretty scared too." Sonny said, turning so that she faced me fully.

"Pfft, no I'm not." I said as I tried to pass off being calm and collected.

"Doubt it." Sonny mumbled to herself.

"I heard that."

Sonny grinned at me innocently in response. "You were supposed to," she said.

I swear if looks could kill…

"Look! We're here! Thank God!" Sonny clapped her hands in praise as I pulled over to the club.

I didn't have time to open Sonny's door for her because she was already out and on her way toward the entrance. I rolled my eyes and jogged after her. I grabbed her arm and halted her to a stop. "You could at least wait for me." I stated with a glare.

"And keep on going on with your small talk? I don't think so." Sonny smirked.

Hey. Smirking is _my _thing. What a biter.

"C'mon, Monroe. Let's just get this over with."

"Aw, I'm hurt, Chad. For a second I thought you actually wanted to go out with me." Sonny remarked sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I murmured.

The two of us entered the club, and we immediately felt the high temperature of all the body heat surrounding us. The DJ was playing the best songs to dance to at full volume as recognizable celebrities were dancing or mingling in every given space. I saw Sonny look around warily as she began to fan herself due to the warmth. I had a feeling she was a bit regretful for saying yes to me after all.

"Uh, I'll go get a drink. I'll see you later," she said.

Once again, I grabbed her arm so she wouldn't move. "Um, _no_. You're my date, Sonny. You stay with me the whole time. I mean, what if somebody sees me alone? What would I have to say for myself?" I panicked. Sonny gave me an irritated look, probably thinking that I'm a jerk along with words like 'arrogant' and 'conceited.' But really, there was only one reason why I didn't want her to leave my side: Devon was bound to be here and it's his time to eat his words.

"Fine, then. Why don't you get my drink for me? I'll even hold your hand since you're apparently scared out of your wits to be left alone." Sonny smiled sweetly at me.

"Oh, don't give me that crap, Monroe. I know you're just dying to hold my hand." I grinned in return as I laced my fingers in between hers.

Sonny frowned, her cheeks reddening. Before she could retort something back, I felt an arm clamp around my shoulders. "Chad!" I saw Devon smiling in awe at me and Sonny, his breath reeking a bit of alcohol. "I can't believe it! You did it!" He gasped.

"Did what?" Sonny asked in confusion.

"This." Devon said, pulling away from me so he could gesture at Sonny and my intertwined fingers.

Sonny quickly pulled away and laughed awkwardly as I scratched the back of my neck. I was going to murder Devon if it's the last thing I do.

"Did you know that Chad has had the biggest crush on you since… like, ever, Sonny?" Devon said like a hyper child. Sonny's eyes widened as I resisted the urge to deck Devon right now.

"He's just a bit buzzed, Sonny," I tried to explain.

"Oh please. I hardly even drank anything." Devon scoffed at me. He then gave Sonny an attempt of a genuine smile. "I'm kidding though. Chad doesn't have a crush on you."

"What?" Sonny gave Devon a strange look. She looked puzzled by all means.

"Nope. The guy's practically in love with you!" Devon exclaimed.

"That's it. C'mon, Sonny. Let's leave this pathetic mess alone." I rolled my eyes, leading Sonny to the bar and far, far, far away from Devon as possible.

"That was, erm, weird." Sonny noted as I handed her a piña colada.

"Devon's just being a douche. It's normal. Don't worry about it." I said easily.

"Then why is he even your friend?" Sonny asked quizzically.

"Uh…um…" Honestly, I didn't know how to reply to that. Why was Devon my friend in the first place? I looked at Sonny whom was staring at me with raised eyebrows as she sipped her drink. "Wanna dance?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Hmm…sure."

With that, Sonny set her drink down, and I took her hand and dragged her to the crowded dance floor. A fast song was playing, so I placed my hands on Sonny's waist and began to move along with the music. I expected Sonny to look unnerving with this situation - I mean, really? The girl is like a saint - but to my surprise, she danced with perfect ease. She even wrapped her arms around my neck loosely, and I swear to God, she grinded on me.

I'm not imagining things, right?

"So, you're not much of that good girl from Wisconsin I met two years ago, huh?" I smirked at her.

"Are you saying that just because I'm from Wisconsin, I don't know how to party?" Sonny asked, feigning hurt.

"The words 'Sonny' and 'party' just don't go well with each other."

"Just because I'm dancing with you in this particular way doesn't mean I'm this bad girl who has this terrible reputation, Chad. I guess I'm a nice girl, but it's not like I haven't been to a few not-so-PG-rated parties. I'm not this sheltered child, if that's what you're thinking."

"For some reason I just can't believe that." And I won't believe it even if Sonny proves it to me right now. I like thinking that Sonny is this sweet and innocent girl for some reason. It gives me the impression that she's just so…cute. Like, I'd even feel guilty if I took her to the Upper East Side to party. Nope. Sonny's always going to be that adorable and bubbly girl I know who works on that stupid kids comedy show.

Sonny merely smiled brightly at me.

The music changed into a slow song, which I recognized to be 'Hate That I Love You' by Rhianna and Ne-Yo.

I saw Sonny freeze momentarily, staring at me blankly. "What?" I asked.

"Um…you ask," she said.

"Ask what?" I gave her an odd look.

"Ask me to dance to this song, silly."

Did she just call me silly? You see, this is why I can't even picture her being a partier. Her choice of vocabulary just ruins it and don't get me started on the rest.

"Why do I have to ask?"

"Because, well, doesn't the guy always ask?"

"Last time I check, it's the twenty-first century. Women can even propose to men to marry now."

"Chad!" Sonny whined.

I sighed in defeat. "Fine. Sonny, will you dance with me?"

"Uh…I'll think about it."

Sonny giggled childishly and walked away, leaving me dumbstruck. Did she just reject me? To something she basically forced me to do? She did not! I ran after her once people began to see me standing like a loner. I frowned, knowing that there are some minor scores to settle.

I soon found Sonny at the bar again, sipping another round of piña colada. I cleared my throat, causing her to look at me. Sonny began to laugh like some deranged child. "Yes, Chad?" She bit her lip to prevent her from laughing even more.

I rolled my eyes before taking in a very deep breath. I looked Sonny into her eyes and gave her a small smile. "Will you dance with me?" I asked her earnestly.

"Why?" Sonny replied.

Ugh. I'm beginning to hate the word 'why.'

"Why not?" I said back. Sonny opened her mouth to answer, but I took her hand before she could let out another word.

I pulled her in with me so that our bodies were touching, my arms wrapped completely around her waist. Sonny's hands were circling my neck again, but this time, they had a tighter grip on me. For the first time tonight, things were silent _and_ not awkward between us. It was a … nice feeling. Sonny and I still couldn't help but feel a bit weird with our arms around each other, though. We don't even hug, but here we are, pressed up against each other as we danced to a slow song.

Sonny's head began to lean on my chest in the middle of the song, which took me by surprise. I didn't know how to react to that, so I just wordlessly rested my chin on her head as I held her even closer.

"_And I hate that I love you so…_"

I didn't even notice the song ended until Sonny stepped away from me, looking a bit embarrassed. I didn't know what to say to her again, so I just kept my lips locked. Sonny, on the other hand, was looking down at her shoes. "That was, um, a little too close for comfort," she muttered before leaving me for her piña colada once more.

What the heck was that?

Before I could catch up to her and demand her reason for ditching me after this perfect dance, I heard Devon call out my name. I turned to see him with some chick at his arm. (And she looked like she just saw a plastic surgeon too. What a surprise.)

"What do you want?" I asked him hurriedly.

"That was a pretty sweet dance you shared with Sonny, wasn't it?" Devon teased me with a chuckle.

"Hey, weren't you supposed to ask Chelsea Staub out? I see that that didn't go too well." I sneered in return as I studied the girl beside him.

"What does he mean by that, Devon?" His date/soon-to-be-girlfriend asked worriedly.

"Relax, Marlene. Chad over here is just kidding." Devon assured her.

"Oh…okay!" She believed him, her eyes fluttering.

This was painful to watch.

"So, now you met my girlfriend, Marlene, I guess we'll just wait until the end of August to see how this all turns out."

"What are you talking about? What's in the end of August?" Devon's wannabe of a girlfriend asked.

"Why don't you just go get yourself a drink. I'll be right there, babe." Devon winked at her before shooing her away. When she was gone, Devon gave me a smirk. "Anyway, it looked like there was a bit trouble going on between you and your girl at the end of the dance, Chad."

"It's nothing. Sonny was just…thirsty. Too thirsty. Didn't you see her chug that piña colada down?" I lied lamely.

"Whatever. You still have about three months, so we'll see how this goes."

"Yeah, I can't wait to drive your car, dude. Do you mind if I rename Natalya to 'Devon's Biggest Failure'?" I asked.

"In your dreams. But don't worry. I'll have my camera fully charged when you're walking down Hollywood's busiest street wearing absolutely nothing."

I was ready to shoot something back, but I felt someone tug on my arm. I saw Sonny, and I immediately felt a lump in my throat. She didn't hear that…did she? "Sorry to tell you this, Chad, but can you take me home now?" She asked as she rubbed her head, a painful look in her eyes. "I think I'm getting a migraine," she complained.

Yes! She didn't hear it!

I sighed in relief. "Sure," I said. I gave Devon a look before I left. He was snickering to himself with a devious expression on his face.

Sonny seated herself on my passenger seat then slammed the door. I didn't have enough guts in me to yell at her for possibly wrecking my car. Instead, I said, "You okay?"

"Yeah. I guess I just wasn't feeling too well," she said with a shrug. Now that she mentioned it, she does look sort of pale… "Sorry, I ruined tonight," she added apologetically.

"It's cool." I said, though I was sad that it ended a lot faster than I anticipated.

"I guess. I mean, I was just there so you could have a girl on your arm, right?" She laughed half-heartedly.

I stayed quiet and kept my eyes on the road.

Sonny quickly received the message. "Oh! T-this was a real d-date?" She stammered.

"Yeah, kinda." I said monotonously.

"Oh," she whispered. "I'm sorry," she said again.

I didn't say anything, and we stayed silent the whole way back to her house.

I couldn't understand why that hurt me more than anyone would have thought, though. I'm not one to give the silent treatment anyway. Didn't I act like a real date? Actually, no, not really, but Sonny's not stupid! She should know the difference of being a date and going on a date. Then again she was under the impression that she was just being my date for this event. But that slow dance should have showed her that this was a real date and…

Ugh. Women are so complicated.

"Home sweet home," I mumbled when I stopped in front of her Sonny's apartment.

She sighed. "Look, Chad, I-"

"Don't say it." I said.

"I was just going to say that I had fun." Sonny pouted.

Once again, women are so complicated.

"Even if you got a sudden migraine? Which, by the way, I think you're lying about it since you look absolutely fine to me." I said a bit insensitively.

Sonny frowned and smacked me in the arm. She opened the door and got out. When she was about to slam it (again), I yelled out, "Sonny, wait!"

"What?" She said, glaring at me.

"I'm, uh, I'm glad you had fun," I said, "and, um, I had fun too."

Sonny blinked at me like I was some sort of alien species. "Good night, Chad," she shook her head, a small smile forming on her lips as she let out a small laugh.

"Night, Sonny." I smiled back at her.

Well, that wasn't so bad after all. The worst was probably over.

That was until Bernard informed me what was on the blogs the next day, though.

* * *

**A/N: **So there ya go! Chapter one of That Summer :] Haha, does anyone know why I chose this song for them to slow dance to? Psh, I know you guys know *wink wink* I was going to use Mad by Ne-Yo (pretty random, right?), but then this song began to play, and I just HAD to use it in the story! And since everyone's pretty much talking about last night's episode, I'll do it to. I'm pretty sure we all loved the episode for Falling for the Falls last night :D I swear that show made television history... on Disney Channel at least lol. And now I'm stoked for part two! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this!


	3. The Cliché That is my Life

**A/N: **Anybody ready for chapter two? (: Yeah. I have nothing to say ... shocker. OH! Wait, I do have something to say! Go vote for this year's Teen Choice Awards! Vote for SWAC for favorite comedy show, Sterling for favorite comedy actor, and Demi for favorite comedy actress! DO IT! x] Ya know... unless you like the other nominees better, haha. But you guys should really vote for Sterling. *wink wink*

Enjoy, peoples.

* * *

**Chapter Two** - _The Cliché That is my Life_

Bernard was not only my butler. He's more of my personal assistant that happens to clean my house and tend to my needs. Either way, one of his jobs was to check what was circling around the media about us celebrities, mostly myself. So if there was any good news that concerned me, Bernard was the first to know, and then he would immediately tell me. Then if there were any bad news, well, let's just say that I take care of that before it hits TV or the Internet like a plague. I know that this was supposed to be my managerand my publicist's job, but they do nothing but tell me to embrace attention. A guy can only handle so much 'bad boy' remarks from the press, though.

"Mr. Cooper," Bernard called me.

I groaned in my sleep, unhappy that I was being awoken a few hours before my regular summer time. "What do you want?" I mumbled, half-awake.

"It looks like the media has caught an interest between you and Miss Sonny. They have pictures of you two together exiting the club you went to last night to the point where you dropped her off." Bernard informed me. "Rumors are already beginning to pile up. Some are so ridiculous. People believe that you two are engaged," the old man chuckled.

"The day I ask Sonny to marry me is the day I tell the world that Megan Fox isn't hot." I muttered into my pillow. I forced myself to open my eyes fully and sit up straight. "What are people's reactions to me and Sonny?" I asked.

"They enjoy it, actually. They think you two would make an adorable couple, but they think it's too much of a cliché."

"Cliché? How the heck are Sonny and me a cliché?" I asked incredulously.

"Bad boy from the city dates good girl from the country? I think we've heard this story before." Bernard raised an eyebrow.

I groaned again. "Whatever. Cliché or not, everyone is still loving us, right?"

"Oh, absolutely. In fact, they think the you guys are, and I quote, 'the cutest couple ever!'" Bernard said.

"Awesome. Now I have my limelight for the summer, all I need is to beat Devon in his little game, and I'm all set." I grinned.

Bernard shot me a disappointed look. "Mr. Cooper, if you were going to play that _dreadful_ summer game of yours, you could have at least picked a different girl. Didn't you once tell me that Miss Sonny is a little bit, uh, too childish for liking?"

"Your point?" I asked him.

Like the many males in MacKenzie Falls, Bernard didn't approve of Devon and my summer romances. Not because it was pointless, though, but because it was disrespectful toward women and blah, blah, blah. He once said that love was not supposed to be a game or a way to get noticed by the press and more meaningful stuff, but I tuned him out due to my boredom.

"Well…wouldn't you feel guilty for just using her?" Bernard asked.

"Psh. No. Of course not. Why would I? And, Bernard, I'm not _using _Sonny. I'm just dating her for a certain period of time. Big difference." I clapped the man on the shoulder to ease him.

"Alright, then," he sighed. Bernard left my room without any other word.

I checked my schedule for the day. To my disappointment, nothing was reported. I guess it was just going your average Sunday.

As much as I wanted to go back to sleep, I couldn't stop thinking about what happened last night. The way Sonny danced with me - the way I wanted her to keep on dancing with me - it was kind of scaring me. Like, I could handle her freaking with me, even though it was _Sonny _of all people. But that one slow dance, the one I called 'perfect,' now that was what truly scared me.

Then there was how she ditched me like I was some loser off the street and then told me how she thought this wasn't a real date. What was her deal? Was she on her period or whatever? God, it's like nothing can ever be simple with this girl.

I saw my phone laying on my desk and picked it up.

_What are you doing? _I texted.

**What? No, hey! or any other form of greeting? Jeez Chad. You're probably the worst texter in the world. **

I rolled my eyes. Of course Sonny would reply with something like that. I can't believe I expected her to actually continue on with the conversation without starting an argument with me.

_I asked you what you were doing. I don't want your criticism. _

**Not everyone gets what they want you know. Get used to it (: **

_Grrr. Just answer the question Monroe! _

**Someone did not have a good sleep last night. Isn't that right Mr. Grumpy? **

_You irritate me. _

**I can't say I don't feel the same way about you. **

_Ok I'm going to ask you one more time. What. Are. You. Doing. _

**And why do you need to know? **

Ooh. She had a point for that. I can't tell her that she was everywhere in my mind from the moment I woke up until now, and that I texted her without even thinking. She'd think I'm insane - or that I might even have a crush on her… which I don't. Pfft. But what was I supposed to tell her though? That I accidentally texted her? What kind of desperate person does that?

_Oh. Sorry. I accidentally texted you._

Huh. I guess I'm that desperate person.

**…** **Liar. **

_What? How am I a liar?_

**Because you're not even that idiotic enough to accidentally text me. But you are pretty lame for actually saying that you did. Seriously Chad? Accidentally? How many different kinds of stupid are you?**

_Chad Dylan Cooper is not stupid. And I'm not lying! It was an accident! Your name was right next to this other person and I accidentally texted you! _

**Lies. You're nothing but lies Cooper :]**

_You suck Monroe. _

**As do you Chad. As do you. **

I glared at the screen. Why must she always have the last say in everything? And why must they always sound so cool? It makes me look like I'm not Chad Dylan Cooper for crying out loud!

_I'm ignoring that. But I'll try this again. What are you doing? _

**Oh nothing. Why? **

Now she finally answers. But she had to add in that awful word 'why.' Did I mention I found a new hatred for that word recently? Especially when it comes from Sonny? Sonny Monroe, you will be the death of me, I swear. But despite the situation, I couldn't help but smile due to the relief. I mean - she finally answered the question! I absentmindedly began typing out my response.

_Good. I'll be at your house in just a few. Get ready. Oh and wear something sexy with a hot bikini underneath ;]_

* * *

I parked in front of Sonny's apartment to find her sitting in front of the bench outside. She was sitting there with a bored look on her face wearing a sun hat. I honked the horn to get her attention. Her eyes changed from boredom to irritation in a flash once I stopped pressing the car horn. She stood up and walked over to my car to seat herself in. She was dressed in a yellow and white sundress - huh, I guess she's going with a theme here - with a swimsuit underneath and bright orange flip-flops. I, on the other hand, was in my plain white V-neck shirt with board shorts and sandals.

Don't we look so… cliché and Californian.

"So where are you dragging me this time?" Sonny asked.

"Venice Beach, baby," I grinned.

"Don't you have any other friends to hang out with?" She asked me with raised eyebrows.

"Psh, yeah. But-"

"They just don't exist?" Sonny cut me off with that sweet smile of hers.

"I have friends, Sonny. Friends that aren't from my show and friends that don't think cheese pants are the coolest invention in the world."

"Well, psh, my friends are, like, uh - pfft!" She stuttered quite cutely.

"Uh-huh. Keep on talking, Monroe." I grinned as she seethed.

"I don't even know why you're taking me to the stupid beach anyway. Unless… Is this our second date?"

I almost hit the breaks when those words left her mouth. I merely stared at her and gave Sonny the most strangest look I could muster while she look back at me with confusion. In unison, we turned our heads and kept our eyes off each other as silence intruded my car once again.

Here we are, back in that awkward phase like last night.

"I'm guessing no?" Sonny said in a soft voice, her eyes still refusing to meet me.

"Um…" What do I say? What can I say? Why the hell did I text her in the first place?

"I know I was rude last night, and I'm sorry! First, I totally just blew you off on the dance floor - twice - and then you had to take me home early that night since I drank too much piña coladas, and I think someone put a little bit of alcohol in it which kinda got me dizzy, and then I was being inconsiderate and thought it wasn't a real date-"

I honestly wasn't really paying much attention to Sonny. All I heard was the "I'm sorry" part then started wondering why she was apologizing in the first place. Besides the fact that she _should _be sorry, of course, but it got me thinking: does Sonny actually want a second date with me? Is she saying sorry in her annoying whiny voice because she wants to redeem herself? She wants me to give her a second chance?

Oh, how the tables have turned.

"Relax, Monroe," I grinned cockily. "There's no need to fret over how bad you messed up last night. It's all good."

Sonny gave me a look. "Wipe that smirk off your face."

"What? A guy can't be happy about the good things in life?"

"If that guy is you then no."

"You're mean for a nice girl, Sonny. And to think that I was going to call this little shindig a second date."

"Did you just say shindig?" Sonny laughed. "Who in this century says shindig?"

"You're so immature." I glared at her.

"And you're being Mr. Grumpy again."

"You're the one who didn't want me to smile!"

"No, I said I didn't want you to smirk. There's a very big difference, Chad."

"I hate you." I muttered indignantly.

"So this isn't gonna be a second date anymore?" Sonny asked.

I sighed. "It'll be whatever you want to be." I said, hoping she doesn't find a way to argue with me with that statement. And thankfully, she didn't. We stayed silent the whole way to the beach, not one word coming from either of us.

Note to self: when I get home, I'm definitely deleting Sonny's number from my phones so this will never happen ever again.

I parked in the parking lot near the beach before Sonny and I headed out to the ocean. She was running - leaving me alone again - until she reached the tip of the ocean water. Sonny screamed and laughed as she let the wave chase her. I slowly walked up behind her until I was near the water too. I watched her run toward and away from the waves like a maniac, an unimpressed look on my face.

"You look stupid." I told her pointblank.

"You're the one who looks stupid. We're at the beach, and here you are, doing absolutely nothing. You're such a killjoy." Sonny said, kicking sand at my feet.

"I could have fun at the beach!" I protested.

"Please. The most fun you probably have here are ogling at girls in bikinis. Heck, that's probably the only reason why you'd come here!"

"Jealous?" I smirked.

"No. More like disgusted." Sonny smirked back before pushing me into the ocean.

I landed on my butt with an _umph_ and caused my board shorts to be filled with wet sand, but to make matters worse, a small wave crashed over me, drenching me entirely. I looked up to see Sonny laughing so hard that she could hardly breathe. I glared at the girl before me with deadly eyes.

"You're definitely getting it, Monroe." I said. With that, I grabbed Sonny's arm and pulled her in so that she would be completely wet as well.

"Ah! Chad!" She squealed. She tried to get up, but I wrapped my arms around her stomach and dragged her back down so she wouldn't be able to escape.

And, mind you, we were still both fully dressed.

"I think you owe me an apology." I said into her ear.

"For what?" Sonny asked me, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"For getting my shorts filled with sand and for getting salt water in my hair. Do you have any idea how bad that is for your hair?"

"Nope, but I guess I'll find out." Sonny said, splashing me repeatedly with the water until I released her.

"Sonny!" I yelled, splashing her back.

Yes, I do realize that Sonny and I look like idiots since we're both teenagers that are acting like a bunch of six-year-olds who are splashing each other repeatedly on the beach like it's some sort of battle. I am aware that there are people who are staring at us with amused looks that just makes them want to make fun of us oh so badly. And correct me if I'm wrong, but there are people recording this on their phones right now as well.

Apparently I swallowed my pride whole because I managed to pick Sonny up in the air before throwing her into the ocean, causing her to scream then erupt in laughter.

I have never acted like an idiotic buffoon since… ever.

What the heck am I doing?

I stared down at Sonny, the smile on my lips that was once so blissful, now gone. It was replaced by a look of embarrassment as I scratched the back of my neck. Sonny's giggles subsided as she gave looked at me confusedly, wondering why the fun and glee in my eyes disappeared.

"Um. We should probably head back to where it's dry." I said lamely. I turned my back on her and walked away, just how she did to me last night at the party. Only this time, it simply felt wrong.

"What's wrong with you?" Sonny asked, genuinely puzzled. She jogged up ahead of me and stopped abruptly before me so I couldn't keep on walking forward.

"There's nothing wrong with me." I said in return, walking around her.

"Oh, I get it. You're just embarrassed." Sonny said as she folded her arms.

Well, she's right about that part.

I didn't have enough guts to tell her she was spot-on so I stayed silent as I continued walking uphill.

"Why did you ask me out in the first place if I embarrass you?" Sonny asked me once she realized I wasn't going to respond to her.

Because Devon made a bet with me over how I wouldn't be able to last having you, a real girl, as a girlfriend - and so far, I'm not doing well with that bet since you're not even my girlfriend yet, and if I lose this bet then I'll have to shave my hair off and walk around naked on the busiest street in LA. So there. That's the sole reason why I asked you out.

Psh. Like I would tell her that though.

"You're immature. You're optimistic - but in a negative way when it comes to me. You confuse me so much. You're quite irritating. You pick a fight with me about the stupidest things. And you're willing to ditch me every time we're together and make me look like an absolute loner."

Sonny raised her eyebrows at me, looking like she was ready to shoot something back at me.

"So why did I ask you out?" I wondered aloud. "I guess every one of those reasons mean something to me then."

Sonny's once angry facial features softened. That smile was back on her face, but it was a tiny, shy smile this time.

"I like this Chad," she said truthfully.

"That sucks because he comes out very rarely." I said.

Sonny grabbed my hand unexpectedly and grinned up at me. "What a shame," she laughed, and I smiled down at her like a fool.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a few men subtly snapping pictures at us. I turned and faced them completely, giving them an annoyed look. Sonny followed my gaze. Once she saw the paparazzo, she quickly let go of my hand, and a blush traveled up to her cheeks. I waved at the sleazy men, giving them a fake smile, showing them that they've been caught. The two looked at each other before running away from us.

"You think that'll be on the Internet soon?" Sonny asked warily.

"Please. It'll even be in _Tween Weekly _or _People_'s next edition soon."

"So does this mean our second date is going to be stalked from the Internet and magazines?"

"Embrace the spotlight, Sonny. You don't get it as much."

People of America, enjoy reading about my next summer romance.

* * *

I now understand the human nature of Sonny Monroe.

Well…some if it, at least.

No, she's not what a person would call the most innocent girl in the world (well, after last night I personally wouldn't, though the whole world is still under the illusion that Sonny is incapable of sinning), but she's not full-on crazy. She has limits, and when those limits are crossed, she gets uncomfortable and completely bails on the situation.

Example: Last night's party

So even if Sonny is a very cheery person who loves to give hugs, that doesn't mean she likes to be touched back, especially in, erm, certain ways.

When Sonny is being treated like a kid, but is having fun, she'll continue on and act even more childish, even if that means she's being humiliated. She won't care unless she's enjoying herself. And how on Earth will we know she's enjoying herself? Her smile is as big as it could get, and her big brown eyes get wider and wider with excitement and bliss with each passing moment. That or the fact that she's laughing so loud that you'd be able to hear it half around the world.

Example: The beach

Sonny gets headaches easily - especially if she's drinking even the slightest bit of alcohol. And she _will _make you take her home, even if the date lasted less than thirty minutes. But what choice do you have, anyway?

Example: The piña coladas

You know that you've said or done something right when Sonny starts to laugh. It's her way of approval and a sign that she's having fun. Odd, yes, but she's still a Random after all.

Example: When Sonny and I were having that, uh, 'water splash war'

And you know that you've pulled Sonny's heartstrings in the right place when she gives you a small smile instead of that gigantic and bright one, she giggles in a quiet manner, and she acts like she's shy instead of her usual confident and upbeat self.

Yeah, I realize that I still have a lot of work to do, but so far, this is all I need to win Sonny's heart completely to the point where I can call her my girlfriend.

_Are you busy this weekend? _I texted her.

**Hmm. I dunno. Why? **

_I think it's time for a third date :] _

**Alright Romeo. I'll give this thing another shot ;) **

Romeo? Ugh. Bernard's right. Sonny and I _are _a cliché.

* * *

**A/N: **FAIL. Yes. I know. But I'm still introducing the story. I don't want to rush into it and make them kiss and fall in love already and blah, blah, blah. Plus the main part of the story line is what goes on in Chad and Sonny's dates, so that's what you'll mostly be seeing in That Summer. Remember what I said! Vote for 2010 TCA's, and choose WISELY :D


	4. Are We Dating Yet?

**A/N: **Yeah. I suck at updating. No need to tell me twice.

* * *

**Chapter Three** - _Are We Dating Yet? _

Men were in suits that were worth thousands with matching black shoes that shined even in the dark while women were in elegant dresses that were probably worth even more with designer jewelry dangling against their skin and shoes that were almost impossible to get in this country. A place like this was probably hard to imagine a girl like Sonny Monroe to crash at, even if she was with me. Heck, it was even hard to imagine myself being at this party! But it was a party nevertheless, and I was invited, so I intend to be here.

Sonny clung onto my shoulder as I led her into the annual Beach House Party. She tripped a few times, causing both of us to stumble, and I tried to get her to calm down. I don't blame her for being this nervous though. This was probably - most likely - actually, I'm _sure_ that this is the first time she's ever been to a high class party in her life. I told her to dress nicely, which she thankfully did since she's wearing a gorgeous light blue summer party dress and heels, but she was under the impression that I was just taking her out to eat at some five star restaurant when I informed her to wear something fancy. Not a party filled with A-list celebrities hosted by some millionaire.

"Do you know these people?" Sonny whispered into my ear.

"No, but they better know who I am." I scoffed as I stared at the ancient thirty-year-olds that surrounded us.

Sonny rolled her eyes at my remark and gave me a nudge on my shoulder. "C'mon, Chad. These people are so old they probably were there when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Don't expect them to know who you are," she muttered underneath her breath.

To my horror and utter shock, I ended up laughing so hard that people actually stopped to stare at me as if I'm some sort of lunatic. I had no idea what force compelled me to laugh, and I most definitely don't know how I managed to think Sonny was funny, but because of it, even the live music playing so dully stopped so that my laughter was the only thing heard.

"Shhh!" Sonny giggled as she covered my mouth with her hands, muffling my laughs. "You're making a scene," she told me, though in her eyes I could definitely see that she was relieved despite the crowd we attracted. Sonny always hated boring, and boring was the perfect word to describe this party.

I stopped laughing after a short moment and immediately began to hear the music resume. Sonny and I looked at each other for a split second before laughing quietly to ourselves. "You're contagious, ya know? I need to be away from you or else you'll make me look like some sort of fool." I told her with an eyebrow raised.

"Aw, you're a fool for me, Chad?" Sonny teased.

"Aw, yeah, Chad, you kinda are." I heard Devon say behind me in a mocking voice.

Sonny and I turned and saw Devon and Marlene - that was her name, right? - looking cozy right in front of us. Devon has his arm draped around Marlene's waist, almost groping her butt while the Barbie Girl was pretty much all over the guy with her body pressed up against him. Ugh. I smell a mixture of stupid and desperate from that girl.

"Hey, Devon," I muttered reluctantly. Oh, how I really wanted to just grab Sonny and ditch the party so we could be miles away from Devon the Douche.

"I see that you and Sonny are together…_again_. I gotta say, Chad, I'm impressed. You picked one heck of a girl this time. Not a flaw in sight," he winked at Sonny, causing her to look uncomfortable and disgusted at the same time. "You'll definitely be entertained this summer, Chad, if you know what I mean," he joked, and Marlene laughed along with his perverted joke. I quickly glanced at Sonny, whom looked like she was ready to walk away from this conversation, and had the sudden urge to break something in Devon's body.

"Dude, shut up," I said with an eye roll. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

Devon smirked. "Chad, you know how fun it is to get you all riled up though. Of course Sonny over here would know. With all that sexually frustrated intensity you guys have between each other-"

"Uh, Chad, I'm just gonna get a drink." Sonny said. She was about to walk away when I slipped my arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"Not until this loser over here apologizes." I said, glaring at Devon.

"Apologize for what? This was all just fun and games. No hard feelings, right, Sonny?" Devon faked a smile.

Sonny didn't make eye contact with him, but I saw the nervousness in her eyes leave in an instant and was replaced with rage. "Listen here, _Devon_," she said his name as if it was a curse, and I couldn't help but want to laugh at Devon's sudden shock that threw him off slightly. "I think I've had enough with your stupid little side comments - that no one really cares about in the first place - so why don't you and your pretty little girlfriend just leave?" she faked a smile in return, her voice sickly sweet but her words piercing.

"E-excuse me?" Devon sputtered. "Did you just talk to me like that? I can't believe that a person like _you _just said that to me!" He said incredulously, laughing humorlessly.

"A person like me?" Sonny repeated his words, hurt evident in her eyes.

"Devon, you prick, just say you're sorry!" I said to him, my voice rising slightly.

Devon blinked at me for a moment, his eyebrows raised. He gave me a smile that wasn't genuine, but at the same time, it wasn't fake. It was more like a knowing smile, as if he knew something about me that I didn't wish to be true. And to be honest, I _really_ did not enjoy that smile. His evil grin grew as he chuckled slightly then turned toward Sonny. "Sorry," he said to her, still laughing amusedly. Devon then turned to me, that evil knowing smile still there on his face. "And, Chad," he added with a laugh, "you're a goner."

The thing with that statement was… I didn't particularly know what it means, but I have a feeling I actually do but just don't want to admit it.

I turned to Sonny and sighed. "Sorry about that. Devon's just a-"

"I get it." Sonny cut me off. "And thanks," she nodded in appreciation, a tiny grin forming on her lips. "That was quite…heroic of you."

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for the damsel in distress." I smirked.

"Pfft, I was not a damsel in distress! I think I stood up to him quite well if I say so myself." Sonny pouted, feigning hurt.

Instead of playing along, I found myself looking down at her, the smirk on my face turning into a real smile. "It's okay. You don't have to admit that you were uncomfortable with what Devon said because I already know. I'll go kick his ass later for you."

Sonny smiled that tiny, shy smile of hers, and I knew that I was on the right track with getting her to fall for me.

"Now why don't we go out into the backyard. Maybe it'll be more exciting there." I said.

"Dear God, I hope it is." Sonny said.

As Sonny and I made our way to the back, I felt her hand reaching for mine subtly. Success! I tried to hide my grin as I simply grabbed her hand and intertwined our fingers. I felt her relax as we reached the backyard where we saw a more familiar - and definitely younger - group of faces all huddled around us.

There was no dancing occurring (it was a _sophisticated _party after all), but Sonny and I surely saw a bunch of people drinking expensive and rare alcohol in fancy glasses, talking and laughing, and throwing their money around inconspicuously. I saw how Sonny felt out of place again as she suddenly had the urge to head toward the corner to be shunned, so I held onto her hand tighter with assurance.

"Let's have some fun." I said into her hair.

"Um…why not," she responded with a weary laugh.

It wasn't long enough until another couple came toward us to mingle, and we ended up talking to them for a very long time, almost the whole night. It was some Leonardo DiCaprio wannabe named Dylan and his girlfriend that could pass off for a supermodel named Georgia - both heirs to their parents' millions of dollars, of course. Even though Georgia was too much of a flirt and talked like an irritating valley girl (how does her boyfriend deal with her existence in the first place?) and Dylan was boring as heck with a dull droning voice that makes me want to walk far away from him, Sonny was somehow fascinated by them and intended to befriend them.

Ugh. When I think I finally get her, she goes and does something that throws me off track. Why are things never simple with her? I mean, Sonny doesn't hang out with attention grabbers who are hardly illiterate or boring people that are, well, _boring_. But whatever. Sonny's entertaining them with her 'funny' jokes, and she's forgetting about the little incident with Devon, so it's all good. I'm just left there to unwillingly be a part of this stupid conversation.

"Oh, Sonny, you're hilarious! No wonder you're on So Random! By the way, my little sister is, like, the biggest fan ever. She'll freak if I told her I met the Sonny Monroe. You're, like, her little role model, it's just adorable. Mind if I got a picture and autograph?" Georgia asked, pulling out her iPhone and a random sheet of paper and pen from her purse before Sonny could even answer.

"Aw, I'd love to!" Sonny agreed before posing modestly for the camera with Georgia, a toothy smile on her lips.

Hold on for a sec - Sonny's being asked for an autograph and a picture, and _I'm_ _not_?

This is absurd.

"Do you watch So Random! too?" I asked Dylan in attempt for small talk. He was currently checking his watch, probably thinking the same thing I was - _I have better things to do than to be here_.

"Psh. No," he scoffed, causing me to chuckle a bit. Georgia quickly glared at her boyfriend before returning back to Sonny to finish the autograph. "N-not that I don't appreciate your work, Sonny," he stuttered to save him from a lecture from his girlfriend, "You're a really good actress and all that. I just watch shows that're more appropriate for my age, though."

"It's okay, I get it." Sonny smiled. "I guess I'll always be a kid at heart then," she laughed.

I found myself smiling when those words left Sonny's mouth.

A kid at heart.

I hope her heart never changes then.

Georgia raised an eyebrow at my sudden gaze - I mean _stare_ at Sonny. "So are you guys, like, dating now?" she asked.

"Uh… what do you mean by dating?" Sonny's voice raised an octave higher as she laughed uneasily.

"Ya know," Georgia winked. "Like, are you boyfriend-girlfriend-dating?"

"Well…" Sonny stared at me, not knowing what to say.

Out of instinct, I wrapped my arm around Sonny's waist and smiled at Georgia and Dylan. "What do you think?" I replied for Sonny.

"Eeep! Like, oh my God! So you _are_ dating! The rumors are true then!" Georgia smiled ecstatically while Dylan rolled his eyes. "My little sister will be so happy to hear that! She's been rooting for you guys ever since Chad guest starred on your show," she said to Sonny.

"Georgia, can we go now?" Dylan whined.

"Shhh, I'm talking." Georgia held up her index finger to her boyfriend's face, her eyes still on me and Sonny. God, what kind of man lets his girlfriend, or any girl for the matter, control him like this! Dylan needs to grow a pair quickly or he'll be doomed into living a life where the woman wears the pants.

"So, how long have you guys been dating?" Georgia asked eagerly.

"I wouldn't know." I heard Sonny mumbled indignantly to herself. Thankfully, I was the only one who heard her.

I pretended that I didn't hear her and smiled at Georgia, "Just for a few weeks. Not that long. But we're really happy." I did those corny gestures with Sonny where I hugged her from behind and rested my chin on her shoulder. Good boyfriend move, right? I guess so, because it made Georgia melt like she was watching some hopeless romantic movie, but it also made Sonny stiffen against me.

"Well Dylan and I over here just passed the one year mark! He's my longest one," she stated proudly as she cuddled up to her boyfriend, who, if you asked me, looked really lifeless at the moment.

"We hope the best for you then! Chad needs to drop me home now. Ten o'clock curfew and all that jazz." Sonny said, slipping away from me in an instant.

"Aw, well at least give me your number! We need to hang out!" Georgia said, flipping her red hair over her shoulders as she pulled out her phone again. After she and Sonny exchanged phone numbers, Sonny bid them a goodbye quickly then grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside.

"Since when was your curfew at ten? Didn't you say your mom extended it to-"

"Just take me home, Chad." Sonny said, her arms folded in an angry manor.

I raised an eyebrow at Sonny but respected her wishes unwillingly. As we made our way to my car, Sonny was glaring at every speck of dust in her view while I was muttering incoherent things underneath my breath. This was not a night to remember, but I'm sure I could memorize every detail of what was going on by tomorrow morning. And now here we are, sitting in the same car, in the same situation: awkward and silent. My life is just a redundant cycle, now isn't it?

"I don't get it." I finally said as I hit the highway. Sonny didn't reply at all, acting as if she didn't even hear me in the first place. I slightly stepped on the gas, annoyance pouring all over me. "I don't get it," I repeated. "I don't get how we're having fun one moment then you decide that you're pissed off, completely ruining the night, and force me to drive you home. I don't get how we get along and now you act like you want nothing to do with me. And what I _really_ don't get why you act as if you like me then you end up turning me down."

Sonny shifted in her seat, the anger in her eyes vanishing into confusion and a tinge of guilt. "Why did you say you were my boyfriend?" she finally asked me in a puzzled voice.

"Because I thought I was?" I answered, though my reply sounded more like a question than anything else.

"You never asked me to be your girlfriend, and we've only been on three dates. And I really did enjoy those dates, Chad, but it's not like we were official or anything…" Sonny explained. "I never even thought I was leading you on, but apparently, I was," she said apologetically.

I gulped and scratched the back of my neck. "No, you weren't really leading me on." I told her as we neared her apartment. "But I made sure _I_ was leading _you _on."

"And why would you do that?" Sonny asked.

"Have it ever occurred to you why the heck I asked you out in the first place, Monroe? I mean, think for once! Jeez." I rolled my eyes.

Sonny glared at me. "Way to be annoying at a time like this, Chad! God, you always know the wrong things to say and _do_," she scoffed.

"What the heck did I do this time, huh?" I asked her, irritated, but Sonny didn't answer me again. Oh, so now she's giving me silent treatment again? That's it. She hit my final nerve, and now I was more than happy to bite her head off.

"You know, maybe the reason why I said we were dating was because I _hoped _we were actually dating! It looked like we were anyway! We're going on dates, aren't we? You want to hold my hand, and I want to hold yours. We hug, we dance, and we laugh together. And if you think just a little harder, then maybe you'll actually see that I actually want to be your boyfriend!"

I slammed on the breaks once I realized that we were already outside Sonny's apartment. It was ten o'clock sharp, the streetlights were dim, and the sky was absolutely dark. Not a single cloud was in the sky. It could have been a perfect night… 'could have' being the key words.

Sonny sighed and turned to me. Then she did something that not only confused me completely but made me blush for the first time in many years.

Sonny kissed my cheek.

The girl kissed me on the cheek after I exploded on her!

And I could actually feel my face heating up!

"Good night, Chad," she whispered into my ear before running off into her apartment.

As she walked through the doors of her building, I touched my cheek as I willed my body to cool down. The place where her lips just made contact with was still warm, and I could still feel her scent lingering upon me. I stared at myself through the rearview mirror and merely blinked at my reflection.

What was happening to me?

I was supposed to be happy over the fact that Sonny's lips were just on my face. That counts for something, right? It's supposed to mean that she likes me too…right? And I should be thinking of more ways to get her to fall for me and to prove to Devon that dating Sonny would be a breeze - even if he does say something douche-y and tries to make it harder. I was supposed to be thinking about how Sonny was a bet and that I was going to win this.

But right now, all I could think of was the fact that Sonny Monroe kissed my cheek.

And that I liked it.

* * *

The next morning was quite peaceful, if I do say so myself. But of course, my days are never just ho-hum. I woke up during midday, as usual, and sleepily made my way downstairs where I heard Bernard watching TV instead of doing his job. Ugh. People these days always slack off. When Bernard saw me walking toward him, he gave me a straight smile and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Cooper. You did it."

I was perplexed by his words. "What do you mean?" I asked with my eyebrows raised.

"I happened to come across this channel. Did you know that E! is just like those gossip blogs you tell me to read, except it's on television?" Bernard sounded truly amazed.

God, how oldis this guy again?

"Um. Yeah. I knew about E! Why? Did they say anything about me?" I asked him, sitting beside him on the couch.

"Oh, yes. They just preformed a segment on how you and Miss Sonny are officially an item. They have pictures of you from the party at Beverly Hills and the beach, and they're following up with what happened between you two last night during the next new episode." This time, Bernard's voice sounded disappointed as it always is whenever we had to discuss me and my summer fling.

"That's great! My manager and publicist will be happy about this." I grinned.

"You know, maybe I'll start watching E! from now on. Working a television is much easier than trying to manipulate the Internet. Oh dear Lord, I don't understand why you kids these days spend hours on that contraption." Bernard shook his head.

I rolled my eyes and walked toward the kitchen to find my mom there. "Chad Dylan!" I heard her scold my name.

I inwardly groaned, wondering what I did this time to upset her. "Yeah, Mom?"

"Why on Earth didn't you tell me that you have a girlfriend!" she demanded in a playful way, a smile on her lips. "I had to hear it from the TV for God's sake! Do you know how sad it is for a mother to hear that her only son is in a relationship with a nice young lady from the television? Gosh, it's embarrassing, I tell you. Sad and embarrassing."

I forced myself not to shake my head in annoyance. Mom doesn't know anything about my ritual every summer, and I intend to keep it that way, so I always try to make it look real with my summer girlfriend whenever I'm around her or Dad or any other family member for the matter. "Yeah, sorry about that." I mumbled. "I was waiting for the right time to tell you but-"

"No buts! What's her name?" Mom asked with a huge and excited smile.

"Uh, Sonny." I said with a sigh.

I know where this is going.

Chad Dylan Cooper, prepare yourself for an interview from your mother.

"Oh Sonny! What a lovely name! You know, I saw pictures of you two together on that show Bernard was watching. She is quite a beautiful girl. She's probably the most down-to-earth looking girl you've ever dated, actually."

"Yeah, she is…" I agreed.

"Now tell me what she's like!" Mom pressed on.

"She's really bubbly and upbeat, she's so nice that it's annoying sometimes, she's optimistic most of the time," (with the exception of me of course), "she loves helping people, she has a big heart for animals, she's so selfless that I envy her for it, she's an actress on So Random!, she loves comedy, and she's so immature - like a kid at heart - but that's what makes her so…" I could hear my voice trailing away. I cleared my throat abruptly and averted my eyes away.

"Well that's just… new. And different. It's… _very_ new and different." Mom gave me a surprised look. "You don't normally date girls like that, Chad."

"I don't." I nodded my head.

Mom smiled at me and hugged my shoulders, placing a kiss on my forehead. "But I'm glad you're dating her. She's seems like a wonderful girl," she said.

"_Mom_." I whined, embarrassedly wiping her kiss away.

"Chad, I'd love to meet her!"

"…What?" I asked incredulously.

"I want to meet your little girlfriend!" Mom said, no, _ordered. _

I stepped away from my mom's embrace and gave her a nervous look. "Well…"

"Oh, don't tell me you're planning to break up with her?" Mom asked worriedly.

"No!" Dear God, no. Not until the end of summer, that is. If I did now… that would be a riddance to my perfect reputation for me. "I don't want to break up with Sonny, but… Mom, you have to respect the fact that Sonny and I just started dating. I don't want to rush things." I said to her, giving her a reasonable answer.

"Oh, please. Your father and I got married after knowing each other less than a year, and we've been together for twenty happy years," she smiled.

"That's different. You weren't sixteen and naïve, and Dad wasn't seventeen and stubborn. And what if Sonny thinks I'm the one who wants to rush things? She might break up with me because she thinks I'm taking it too seriously too fast! And Mom, did you even consider the fact that-"

"Oh, Chad," Mom rolled her eyes and laughed. "Alright, I won't make you bring her home to me," she said. I sighed in relief. "_Yet_," she added. "I will meet this girl eventually. You better bring her home for dinner one day or else I will send you to a school for priests so you'll never feel guilty for not introducing your girlfriend to your mother."

I shuddered. No girls. That's just torture. "Yes, Mom," I promised her, kissing her head quickly before getting breakfast… well, lunch.

* * *

Boredom quickly reached me and built up its walls until it felt like I was holding another conversation with Dylan the Master of Boredom himself. Out of habit, I began to text Sonny. I felt tingles shoot through me as I wrote out a message to her. What was I supposed to say to her, though? 'Hey, what's up' is such an overused greeting. A simple 'hi' would do, but it's so lame, and Sonny might think I've turned into Dylan overnight.

Wait, was I actually experiencing butterflies? It can't be… but my stomach was tingling. And why was I over thinking of what to write to Sonny? Since when I do I over think this kind of stuff in the first place? God, this can't be happening. Oh, shoot me now.

**HEY SONNNAAAYY! **

Oh, please tell me I didn't just text her that.

I smacked my forehead.

Stupid. I'm sooo stupid.

Sonny didn't reply to me, which worried me. Did she think I was that much of a loser for greeting her like that? What the heck did I write that in the first place? Oh, God. She's embarrassed by me! And worse: I've lost my cool! The apocalypse has started!

**Sonny? You there? **I texted her.

Nothing. Absolutely thing.

**Uh. Sorry about that. I was… being weird :P **

There was still nothing! Ugh!

I tried text messaging her once more.

**Did I do something again? Are you mad at me for another reason? **

But even my message that reeked desperation failed because Sonny still didn't reply to me.

Maybe she was busy. Maybe her phone was dead. Maybe her mom took her phone away for some reason…

Or maybe she's just trying to ignore me.

After five minutes of thinking over that dreadful idea, I called Sonny, hoping that she wasn't really ignoring me and that she picks up my phone call and gives me a good reason why she wasn't responding to my texts.

I waited impatiently as I listened to the rings, and to my displeasure, I reached the voicemail. I sighed and decided to leave a message. Hey, maybe she is busy and I'm just being a little too paranoid.

"_Hey, Sonny, it's Chad. I'm just calling to let you know that… we should … well, go out again. Last night really left me thinking, and I do want us to be, ya know, __together__. For real. As in, I'm not the only one who says that you're my girlfriend while you just stand there and pretend to go along with it. No more pretending. And you're not replying to my texts or answering my call so… yeah. Just call me back, and we can talk, alright?_"

But here's the thing: Sonny didn't call me back, or reply to my texts, or anything.

She didn't talk to me once for almost a week, and July was just around the corner.

This was not good.

* * *

**A/N: **This chapter was supposed to be longer, but then it would have been too long so I had to split it in half, ha. Anyway, sorry again for taking a while to update! I have this bipolar way of upating. Sometimes it's once every week, sometimes two weeks will pass by, and sometimes - hopefully not - it'll be a month :( I hoped you guys liked this though! I'm trying so hard to not make Sonny OOC, but in the beginning she'll be a little. Toward the middle to the end she'll totally be the Sonny Monroe we all know and love, though ;D


	5. It's Not Official Until We Kiss

**A/N: **I've finally updated! YAY! Sorry for the delay again, people :/ Please understand. I have two words for you: Summer. Homework. Enough said.

* * *

**Chapter Four** - _It's Not Official Until We Kiss_

So, I've been getting quite desperate lately. Well, desperate being the understatement. I was out of my freaking mind over this whole dilemma! July was less than a week away, and two bad things were occurring to me that consisted with many different kinds of problems. One: Sonny was _not _my girlfriend yet, meaning that Devon was winning. And I couldn't let Devon win unless I wanted suicide. (Trust me, I don't.) And two: Sonny won't even talk to me, which just complicates the whole bet thing even more.

I walked up to Bernard that morning - and yes, it actually was morning. I managed to wake up before noon today. Amazing.

"So let's say you piss off a girl," I started the conversation. Bernard chuckled heartily as he served me breakfast. "And now she's not speaking to you at all. What do you do?"

"Shouldn't you be asking your father questions like that?" Bernard offered thoughtfully.

"Yeah, Dad's off shooting some movie half way across the world. I don't think he has time to answer my questions about girls, Bernard." I said with an eye roll.

"Your mother then?"

I simply gave my butler a look, and he understood immediately.

"So I'm guessing that you angered Miss Sonny?" Bernard poured milk into my tall glass as I took a bite out of my pancakes.

"Yeah, and it looks like it's gonna take a lot for her to forgive me."

"What does your father do whenever he upsets your mother?"

It took me a while to think. Dad's not home a lot because of his directing career and whatnot, leaving Mom home all the time since she's a retired super model. I hear Mom complain to Dad on the phone about how she always feels so lonely and how he's never there, so unexpectedly, Dad either showers Mom with priceless gifts (they're seriously priceless; even _I _can't afford it with my own money) or shows up at our house with a surprise visit. The gifts or the visit, I don't know which one makes Mom happier. (She was always a materialistic woman…)

"Dad likes to spoil Mom with jewelry and accessories and clothes and other stuff like that," I said. "But Sonny's not that kind of person. She wouldn't care if I gave her the Hope Diamond unless it meant something sentimental."

"The Hope Diamond? Surely she'd care if you gave her that!" Bernard argued.

"Wanna bet?"

"I don't think you should include yourself in another bet, Mr. Cooper. One is enough." Bernard smiled.

"How did you know that… never mind." It was useless to ask how Bernard found out about Devon and my bet anyway.

"So you say that Miss Sonny is a sentimental type of person? Well there you go! Give her something sentimental and apologize to her for whatever you've done to anger her."

"Sentimental? Bernard, nothing I own is sentimental! I don't even know where to find stuff like that!"

"Then get her flowers." Bernard shrugged.

"Ugh, I'm trying to stay away from clichés, too."

"Then get a stuffed animal."

"How is that sentimental?"

"You can make anything sentimental." Bernard patted my shoulder before leaving the dining room.

Now what was that supposed to mean?

I stuffed myself with pancakes, frustrated.

* * *

I walked into a mall, hoping that I could find that sentimental item, that's not an animal, - because there's just no way am I buying Sonny anything stuffed. I walked into Tiffany & Co. first. I know that Sonny's not a fan of expensive gifts, but it was the only store I could recognize since it was Mom's favorite. There were a few older women in there when I walked in. They hardly glanced at me before admiring all the jewels before them.

"How may I help you, sir?" A middle aged man asked me.

"Oh, well, I was just-" I scratched the back of my neck as I searched for the words to say.

"Looking for a gift for that special someone?" He grinned. I nodded my head. "We have a wide selection here. What do you have in mind?"

"How about a necklace?"

"They're all over here." The man directed me to the other side of the store where rows and rows of necklaces were displayed. My eyes widened at all the possibilities. _Great_. I'm probably going to end up here the whole day, trying to decide what I should get Sonny. I sighed and muttered a thanks to the man before he left and helped another customer.

"Oh my gosh!" I heard a voice say. I turned to see a small girl holding her mother's hand at the entrance of the door. "Mommy, it's Chad Dylan Cooper! Mommy, look!" she squealed with excitement.

"That's great, honey," her mother replied absentmindedly, her eyes glued to the diamond bracelets on the walls.

The little girl let go of her mother's hand and rushed toward me, causing me to smile. I don't normally have younger fans since MacKenzie Falls was a tween show, but every now and then a little girl or boy recognizes me, and I can't help but smile. They were way more well behaved than my teenage fan base, that's for sure. I bent down so that I was near the girl's height and said, "Hey, sweetie, what's your name?"

"My name's Allison!" She said proudly.

I, on the other hand, felt myself choking on my spit.

The world was just so _cruel _to me_._

"What are you doing here?" I asked her, smiling again.

"Mommy wants to buy some things. Then she said that she's gonna take me to Build A Bear! But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Sonny Monroe?" she pouted, feigning a disappointed look.

I laughed. "And why should I be with Sonny?"

"Because she's your girlfriend, silly!" she exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jeez. Does everyone in the universe world know that I'm dating Sonny?

I stopped myself from wondering on how she managed to find that out - she's like, what, five? - and laughed again instead. "Well, actually, I'm going to buy her a present."

"Ooh, can I help!" Allison asked eagerly.

Before I said yes, her mother came rushing toward her daughter and grabbed her arm. "Allison, what did I say about talking to strangers? I'm sorry, sir," her mom apologized to me as she gave her daughter a disapproving look.

"But, Mommy, he isn't a stranger! He's Chad Dylan Cooper! And I'm supposed to be helping him get a gift for Sonny!"

And that was the last I heard of little Allison. But as her mother dragged her out of the Tiffany & Co., I saw another store across from this one. Target. I raised an eyebrow, hoping that this was some sort of sign. I walked to the other side of the mall where Target was and began to search around the aisles. I was close to quitting when I reached the baby section where a certain toy caught my attention.

It was a little doll that made noises when you hugged them. Out of curiosity I squeezed its middle, and it began to play You Are My Sunshine. I stood there in the middle of that aisle, listening to the whole song patiently until it stopped playing.

On impulse, I bought the doll without a second thought and returned home.

When I got home, Bernard was dusting Mom's vases. I caught his eye and he waved me over. "What did you buy her?" He asked eagerly as he continued to dust.

I embarrassedly held up the doll. Bernard smiled widely at it. Now that I look at it, the doll seemed like only a one-year-old would take interest in. I mean, Bernard was trying not to laugh, but I could definitely tell that he was having trouble holding it in.

"And how is it sentimental?" He asked.

I pressed its middle and we both listened to the song. Bernard couldn't hold it anymore and let out a laugh. "I thought you said that you were trying to stay away from clichés, Mr. Cooper?" I simply glared at the old man. "Well, it's alright because this doll is wonderful. Miss Sonny will love it," he said in between his chuckles.

"Or she'll mock it." I groaned.

"No, just give it to her and apologize. She'll find it sweet." Bernard promised before sending me off so he could finish his work.

I placed the doll in a basket along with bars of Godiva chocolate. Sonny does have a sweet tooth, so I added huge lollipops to the basket. By the time I was done, the basket was filled, and I was ready to give my gift to Sonny and say sorry.

Well… not really ready to say sorry, but the gift was all set!

I drove to her apartment and parked in front. As I stepped out of my car, though, I felt a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I couldn't do this.

I stared at the gift and frowned.

But I _have _to do this.

A little blonde boy on his bike came peddling my way. I looked at him as I heard opportunity knocking. "Hey, kid!" I yelled after him. The boy stopped and biked in my direction so he was before me. "Why don't you do me a favor and deliver this for me?" I gave him my famous million dollar smile.

"Okay, but what's in it for me?" He smirked.

"I'll give you ten bucks." I waged.

"Make it twenty, and you have a deal."

Strangely, this kid reminds me of myself.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, sure, just deliver this to room 204 to Sonny Monroe."

"Whatever," the kid said, grabbing the basket and heading toward the doors.

"And don't forget to tell me it's from Chad Dylan Cooper and that he's really sorry!" I exclaimed.

I am a wimp. A wimp who's making some kid off the street do the apologizing for me.

The boy came back outside moments later, and I handed him a twenty dollar bill. "What did she say?" I asked him before he rode off on his bike.

"Well first she was really happy and excited. Especially after she hugged the doll and started playing that song. She got _really_ happy," he said. I smiled in victory. "And then I told her that it was from you and that you're sorry, and she got all angry and slammed the door on my face. It was… kinda funny actually. What did you do to her to get her that upset?" He laughed. My smile immediately vanished as the sound of this kid's laughter increased.

"Ugh, none of your business." I grumbled.

I stepped back into my car and furiously drove home.

I didn't have enough heart to tell Bernard I failed, so I walked upstairs into my room and stared at the ceiling.

Well, Like I said before: I am utterly desperate.

And times like this calls for extreme measures, causing me to enter my doom the next day.

* * *

I don't normally have enough effort to go into my girlfriend's houses whenever we have a problem. Actually, I try to ignore them when we fight. It always worked, anyway, because they always came to me with apologies and promises to be a better girlfriend and whatnot. And because of that, I never really bothered to make the first move when it came to saying sorry. This was obviously the exception, though, since I'm standing in the hallway of Sonny's apartment, impatiently, _very impatiently_, waiting for someone to open the door.

Which leads me to the next issue: I have no idea what I was doing.

Since I've never had to do this - and dear God, I hope I never have to do this again - I can honestly say that I'm quite inexperience at this department. I mean, I've done it before, the whole sorry thing, particularly with Sonny. Like the time I almost destroyed her precious Prop House. I apologized there and even gave her that handsome picture of me, and I was forgiven on the spot. But the thing was that I don't even know what I'm apologizing for this time. At least when I gave Sonny the picture, I knew why I had to say sorry! This time, I have no clue why I'm even here, feeling guilty!

I know she's going to open that door with a more than pissed off expression and demand why I'm here. Oh, and she'll probably be resisting the urge to slash me with something pointy. (She wouldn't want to be sent to jail with manslaughter, though, with her being the 'good girl' and all that.)

Then I'm going to painfully _stutter_ like an idiot while staring at her furious eyes as I try to come up with a sensible response to that.

"I'm sorry for…"

Yeah, that's all I got.

I almost shrieked when the door opened. I turned and sighed in relief to find Sonny's mother wearing sweatpants and holding the remote. Her eyes were still on the TV as I stood at the doorway. I glanced at their TV to see that MacKenzie Falls was on. Ah, well, this was a rational reason for her delay of opening the door. Who could possibly withstand the art that is MacKenzie Falls, anyway?

"Um, Mrs. Monroe?" I call her, trying to snap her attention back on the real me.

"What?" She glanced at me for a second. "MacKenzie - I mean, Chad. Hi. I'll get Sonny for you," she said, her eyes immediately turning back to the TV. "Sonny, you're boyfriend is here!"

"_Mom!_" I heard Sonny yell, mortified. "He's not my boyfriend!"

I definitely felt my stomach churn after Sonny said that. It was almost as if she was embarrassed over the fact that we were, well, in my perspective we were a couple. Wait, shouldn't that be the other way around? I'm the one risking my reputation after all! God, the world doesn't make sense anymore.

Sonny came out, holding the doll I gave her yesterday to her chest. "What do you want, Chad?" she asked.

"I - it's just - um," _Oh, God_. Yep, looks like I predicted right. I am stuttering like a mumbling idiot. But in my defense, I was distracted by the doll. I mean… she was cuddling with it! She does love it even if she's pissed at me! Sonny noticed my stare and immediately placed the doll next to her mother on the couch, her cheeks a little red.

"Yes?" Sonny asked, looking a little annoyed.

"Why are you ignoring me?" I asked her quietly.

Sonny looked down, not able to meet my eyes. "Come here," she said, talking a step into her apartment. I followed her toward the kitchen where we were alone. She leaned against her counter while I stood in front of her, trying to mask my anxious face with a secure look.

"So why are you ignoring me?" I repeated. My voice was a little shaky as I grew more and more nervous as seconds ticked by.

"It's just…I'm so…" This time, it was Sonny who had no idea what to say. I felt quite better to know that she was just as edgy as I was, but it wasn't helping out the situation here.

She glanced up at my eyes for a split second before looking down at the tiles of her kitchen floor. I swallowed my pride and took a step closer toward her so that our bodies were touching. Sonny froze in her spot, her hands clutching onto the counter tightly.

"Why. Are. You. Ignoring. Me." I spoke carefully. It wasn't even a question anymore. It was almost as if I was gently demanding her.

"Because…I'm…scared." Sonny said in a soft voice.

"What could you possibly be scared of?" I asked incredulously.

"This," she stated simply.

"Well according to you, _this _is nothing," I said, pointing at her then at me.

"Yes, but thanks to you, everyone thinks that _this _is something."

"Then why would you be scared of this? Usually girls are happy…" I wondered aloud.

Sonny merely rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yeah, girls who don't have a brain that actually think are happy when you call them your girlfriend, but I'm not," she said.

Ouch. That stung.

Sonny saw the clear crushed look on my face, causing her features to soften. "What I mean to say is that the only reason I'm not happy about this is because those girls had nothing to worry about. All they thought about was the publicity they were going to get from dating you. I have more than that to worry about. It's just that I'm really scared because I think I might be falling-"

"You know what? I'm sorry I've been wasting your time, Sonny. So sorry." I sighed.

"What? Chad-"

"I'll just go now," I frowned.

I raced out of her apartment as fast as I could, but she was right behind my trail, calling my name repeatedly. As much as I wanted to turn back and face her, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I grabbed the handle of the glass doors at the front of the building, but she grabbed my hair before I could step outside and yanked it forward so that we were face-to-face again.

"Ow, Sonny, let go of my hair!" I screeched in pain.

"You big jerk!" She scolded at me.

"What did I do! You wanted me to leave you alone, and I finally got the message!" I yelled right back at her. "What more do you want me to do, huh?"

"I wanted you to let me finish my sentence! But _nooo_. You had to be all dramatic and downright annoying and totally interrupted me! You have the worst timing in the world, Chad!" she exclaimed, hitting me on the shoulder.

"Well, fine! I'm here now, aren't I! Just tell me what you wanted to say!" I seethed.

"I said that I'm scared because I think I might be falling for you, you stupid, stupid jerk!"

I raised my eyebrows and looked at Sonny. She was panting in anger, her hands balled up into fists, and her eyes were still strikingly furious. I probably looked exactly like that just a moment ago, but now all I could do was stare dumbly at Sonny with my mouth hanging open.

"You're falling for me?" I asked lightly.

I don't think I've ever heard myself so happy.

Unfortunately, Sonny was still pissed off at me. "Yes, I just said that, Chad! Were you not listening to me!"

"Jeez, Sonny, I know you're in love with me, but you don't have to scream it to the heavens." I teased her, rubbing my ear in feigned pain for emphasis.

"Chad, I'm gonna-"

"Kiss me?" I finished for her.

Sonny turned bright red immediately. "Wh-what?"

"C'mon, don't be shy. You and I both know that we're gonna be officially okay with each other if we kiss," I winked at her.

"But… no… I'm angry with you…" she said slowly, as if _she _was the one trying to understand it.

"But at the same time you just can't resist my charm," I grinned, taking her hand.

"I…" Sonny gave me a confused look, not knowing what to say.

Being the expert that I am, I did the work for her. I leaned in so that our lips were lingering against each other. I was so determined to kiss her right there, and despite the fact that Sonny was _still _pretty pissed off at me, we both knew that she wanted this as well.

I knew that this was it. After this moment, she would officially be mine without her confusion to complicate anything. This was going to be _perfect. _But suddenly, my heart plummeted ten feet, and I didn't feel so good. Not like I was going to be sick, but more like I was feeling… guilty? Without thinking, I turned the other way and kissed Sonny's cheek instead, causing both of us to blush simultaneously.

"Bye, girlfriend," I smiled genuinely at her.

Sonny blinked at me before folding her arms and raising an eyebrow at me. "Bye…boyfriend," she gave me that glorious small smile of hers then walked back toward the elevator to go to her room.

Excitement rushed through me as I pulled out myself cell phone and began to text.

_You're gonna lose Devon. Badly. _

I happily walked back to my car and drove home, thinking to myself that I finally had Sonny - and that I was going to beat Devon so badly that he'll by sobbing when he gives me the keys to his car. On my way there, I passed by a park where I saw that little girl named Allison from the mall being pushed on the swings by the same boy whom I paid to give Sonny her gift.

I shook my head and dismissed it. I had better things to wonder about.

* * *

**A/N: **Well there you go! So yeah, Chad and Sonny are official now :D And don't get mad at me for making their kiss a peck on the cheek. There's a reason for that, people. You'll find out in time. Ohh, and the ending was supposed to mean something. I'm sure that you smart people will understand it though :) So now Chad is going to face the true meaning of being Sonny Monroe's boyfriend. And as much as I LOVE the whipped Chad we see on SWAC, he's not going to act like that xD Hope you enjoyed this!


	6. We're Not That Complicated

**A/N: **Bleh. More lame summer homework. It's taking time out of writing this story, so sorry :P Buuut, here's a very long chapter! The longest I've ever written for a story! When I looked down at my document, I saw that I've wrote about 10 pages. So yeah. Enjoy! :D

* * *

**Chapter Five** - _We're Not That Complicated_

Alright.

So here we are.

And it's _not _awkward, so ha!

It's been one week since I've been officially dating Sonny (and two and a half weeks to the press), and so far everything has been, well, pretty normal… in a very weird way. I guess you could say that Sonny and my relationship is pretty ordinary, but of course you would say that; you're not Chad Dylan Cooper. I've had been going around to producers' offices and auditioning for roles this passed week, so I haven't seen Sonny for a while, but she's been off doing her own thing, doing charity, cleaning the world, saving the dolphins, stuff like that. I've been texting her, though. A lot. So much that it's practically unhealthy.

But don't worry, we still argue through our texts. It's our thing whether we're dating or not.

_The producers were a bunch of jackasses! They wouldn't be able to tell if a man is acting or just lying perfectly! _I would say.

**What's the difference? Acting is lying. **She would reply.

_No it's not. Acting is art. Lying is like a sin or something. _

**Oh. So why are you upset again? **

I would roll my eyes then say _Because the producers didn't like my audition for the upcoming Spiderman movie!_

**Well maybe it's because Spiderman should be played by a more physical person? This is an action movie anyway. You're better off for those more drama/romance movies. I think they're doing the right thing for just casting Logan Lerman. **

_ARE YOU CALLING ME SCRAWNY! AND THAT LERMAN KID HAS NOTHING ON ME!_

**Your words. Not mine (: **

_You're probably the worst girlfriend ever. You're supposed to be making me feel better. But no. You continue to insult me. _

**I'm not insulting you. I'm just…stating the truth! **

_Whatever :P _

**Aw. Don't be mad. You still love me. **

And I'd hate it every time she'd say, type, or even _think _of that four-lettered word. Sure, she's just being playful. Sonny's smart enough to know that we are no where near the Love Stage of our relationship, but every time she would do that, it just makes me feel so mushy and uncomfortable inside. Oh, and guilt. I can't ever seem to ignore the excruciating guilt.

_Pfft. Yeah, yeah. _I'd say before telling her I had to go.

And we actually talk to each other on the phone, too. Which is normal for boyfriends and girlfriends but still extremely weird for me. If you haven't noticed, I absolutely hate talking on the phone unless I'm arguing with Devon (because words said aloud have a more painful sting than words written down) or asking a girl out.

Don't get me wrong, though. Sonny and I still bicker on the phone (we just can't break through that bad habit of ours), but our conversations somehow always get…cheesy? And I don't know how, but we end up talking about personal things as well.

"My dad's coming over for the Fourth of July," Sonny told me one time.

I would instantly grow silent, knowing that I've never heard Sonny speak of her father, even with her closest friends. Heck, I've never even seen the guy! "Oh, that's good. I bet you miss him." I reply, trying to sound smooth and calm even though I'm confused, and I have no idea how to participate in this conversation without sounding like a jerk.

"Yeah, I do. I hardly even talk to him on the phone these days… he's always so busy back home in Wisconsin…" and her voice would trail off.

"I know how you feel. My dad's always around the world doing this and that, and he's never around for me or my mom. Sometimes my mom would even cry at night because she misses him." I remember slapping my mouth shut after those words slipped out of my mouth. Only Bernard knew about my parents and their distance issues, but it never really crossed my mind until Sonny brought up her dad, and it definitely didn't seem to bother me until now.

"This is why I'd rather talk to you about these things. You're the only one who gets it." Sonny said, laughing lightheartedly to lighten up the mood.

"All I know is that if I ever have kids, I'm taking them with me even if my acting roles requires me to be in another country. I'm not leaving them for anything." I scoff.

"…Wait, who says you're still going to be acting when you're older? You could be a dried up actor by the time you're twenty-one. Not everyone could be a teen idol for their whole lives." Sonny giggled, and we were back to our bickering.

So yeah. We had a smooth relationship.

Devon was going to lose so badly, he might even cry.

That was, of course, before my dear mother decided to ruin my plans for me.

"I want Sonny to come to our Fourth of July party," Mom told me when I came down for food.

"What? Why?" I asked, giving my mom a weird look before rummaging through boxes of cereals.

"Because she's your girlfriend, and I want to meet her!" Mom said sternly.

"Mom, Sonny and I haven't even been dating for that long. I don't think I should push her into meeting my parents just yet." I said reasonably.

"But you've already met her mother! I need to meet her!"

"I've met her mom because I had to go to her house in order to pick her up for our dates, duh." I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, Chaddy," Mom whined as she hugged my head.

I groaned, hating it when she hugged me and when she called me these stupid nicknames. "Mom, stop it," I begged.

"Just let me meet her!"

"She's probably busy anyway! She has her own family. I'm sure she wants to spend the birthday of our country with them." I said, slipping away from Mom's grasp.

"Then invite her parents over! I don't mind!" Mom said, hoping I'd give in.

"No," I said, giving my mother a serious look.

"If I can't meet her then - then - your phone is off limits! And I mean _all _your phones. That means you can't have any way of communication between you, your friends, or your girlfriend, and I'll be the only one you could talk to." Mom warned.

I sighed, defeated. "Fine. Whatever. I'll invite her and her family over." I mumbled reluctantly.

"Thanks, Chaddy!" Mom smiled, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Of course," I said, shaking my head. "And for the love of all that is good and sane, please don't call me Chaddy when Sonny's here!"

I finally ate my cereal in peace when Mom left the kitchen. I leaned against the counter as chefs passed through the doors, hurriedly making Mom her breakfast, while I was punching speed dial number one on my sacred phone so I could tell Sonny that I'll be over at her house in a few.

* * *

"Chad!" Sonny smiled when she opened the front door. She tiptoed up to hug me and round my neck and I wrapped my arms around her back to hug her back.

I then closed the door behind me to notice that her house sounded eerily quiet. "Are you home alone?" I asked.

"Yeah, my mom left for work hours ago. Why?" She asked.

Sonny. Home alone.

Me. Boyfriend.

No parental guidance.

Ooh.

I smirked. "Nothing," I shrugged, "just wondering."

"Alright," Sonny smiled. "So what's up?"

"Well, besides the fact that we could hang out today since we're both obviously not busy, I was wondering if you and your mom would like to go to the annual Victoria Cooper Fourth of July dinner." I said as we sat down on the couch.

"I'm guessing that Victoria Cooper is your mom?"

"Oh, yeah, and she _really _wants to meet you. She's been obsessing over it ever since she found out that I had a girlfriend."

"Really? Your mom actually wants to meet me?" Sonny asked, snuggling closer toward me. She rested her head on the nook of my shoulder and draped an arm around my stomach. I had no choice but to wrap an arm around her body so I could look boyfriend-y.

Here's another thing I noticed about Sonny. She may deny it, but she's really touchy feely when it comes to certain people. It makes her feel safer somehow, like she's more welcomed. I, on the other hand, was alright with it (I see no problem with Sonny wanting to touch me every ten seconds), but I cross the line at PDA. Good thing Sonny hasn't even brought up anything about kissing though or else we would have had a problem. PDA is just humiliating!

"Yeah, so it'd be great if you came," I said to her.

"I'd really love to, but I can't go," Sonny said apologetically.

"Great! So I'll pick you up at - wait. You can't go?"

"I'm busy that day. Sorry." Sonny frowned, giving me a half shrug.

"Why would you be so busy on that day? It's the anniversary of our independence! You should celebrate it with respect!" I sputtered.

"Well first of all, I have to go to the Los Angeles Orphanage to celebrate with those kids who live there." Sonny said.

"Why would you even bother stepping foot there? They're inner-city kids!"

"Chad!" Sonny gasped, smacking my stomach. "Don't be mean. They need as much love as any other kid."

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes.

"And second of all, my dad is finally coming over to visit us. You should know this. I remember telling you about it a few days ago," Sonny shook her head, sounding annoyed.

"Oh…right." I nodded my head. "Well then just bring both your parents over!"

"Chad, what part of 'I can't go' can you not understand?" Sonny asked.

"The can't part! Come on, Sonny, you know that I hate rejection. All Coopers hate rejection, especially my mom."

"I'm not rejecting your mom! It's just I really can't. I'm sorry." Sonny said, looking up at me with a guilty expression.

"Yeah, fine, I'll just break it down to my mom later." I said, knowing that Mom will not be happy about this at all.

"So what do we do now?" Sonny asked.

The frustrated look on my face immediately changed into bright eyes that twinkled deviously and a smirk. "Well now that you've asked that, and you're home alone, and it's just the two of us," I looked at Sonny, and she gave me a confused look as if she didn't understand where I was going with this, "we could-" _make out? _But before I could finish that sentence, I noticed how Sonny's eyes looked into mine. Her big, brown, innocent eyes. And I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence.

I hate her big, brown, innocent eyes.

"Um, we could, uh," I stuttered, trying to find words to say, "we could go for a walk?"

Sonny jumped to her feet and smiled. "Good idea! And while we walk I could try to convince you to come spend Fourth of July with me at the Los Angeles Orphanage," she winked.

"Pfft, you've got to be kidding me. There's no way I'm going there." I scoffed.

"_Okaaay_," Sonny sung, "but I'm very good at persuading people." she warned me playfully.

"I'll keep that in mind." I smirked.

Sonny gave me a grin of her own before leaning down and placing a kiss on my forehead. Once again, I felt the heat rushing onto my cheeks, and I was blushing _again_. I wanted to ask her why she did that, but I was absolutely speechless. My face was red and butterflies were slowly creeping their way into my stomach, so speaking was out of the question.

"C'mon, Chad," she said. She grabbed my hands and pulled me off her seat before leading the way out of her apartment.

I cleared my throat as we walked along the sidewalks of the street. "So, um, what was that for?" I finally grew the courage to ask.

"What was what for?" Sonny tilted her head.

"The kiss…" I managed to squeak.

"Oh, well, um, you just seemed like, erm, you needed to be kissed." Sonny stuttered.

I stared at her with my eyes wide, half amused and half amazed. I ended up tripping over my feet, but Sonny grabbed my arm before I fell flat on my face and embarrassed myself.

"So, I looked like I needed to be kissed, huh?" I grinned despite the fact that I felt that blush making its way back.

"Well, yeah. Like…you know… you had that little twinkle in your eye and…" Sonny shrugged.

"You know what, Sonny? You're not that bad of a girlfriend as I thought you'd be." I told her, chuckling, amused by her flustered state.

"And since I'm this amazing girlfriend, according to you, does that mean you'll come with me to the orphanage?" Sonny smiled at me hopefully.

"Not a chance." I told her pointblank.

"Oh, come on, Chad! Do it for the children!" Sonny tried to convince me.

"I hate kids." I said with an eye roll. But really, I was lying. Kids were, well, tolerable. Some of them, at least. I just really didn't want to go to with Sonny to _volunteer_ of all things!

"You can't hate kids! Who in their right mind can hate kids! You were a kid once!"

"Well, duh, Sonny, but even back then they were annoying."

"No they're not. They're so cute and-"

"And I'm _not_?"

"Oh, my God, Chad," Sonny shook her head, trying to fight that smile on her lips.

"It's okay. I already know that I am. I'm just offended that you think those kids are cuter than me." I smirked.

Sonny wrapped her arms around my neck and stood on the tips of her toes so that she was hugging me again. I stared at her, confused, but smiled nevertheless as I placed my hands lightly on her waist.

"I would never think that anyone was cuter than you," she said in a hushed tone, grinning from ear to ear.

And that's how I ended up (stupidly) saying yes to helping her out at that orphanage.

* * *

"I still can't believe you talked me into this." I huffed indignantly as I parked my car in front of the Los Angeles Orphanage.

"I didn't talk you into it. You said you'd come yourself. I did absolutely nothing." Sonny smiled innocently.

"It was your stupid hug and your stupid adorable eyes. You did it on purpose." I glared at her.

Sonny chuckled and said, "Or maybe I'm just stealing your charm."

"Pfft, you better not," I smirked. "Without my charm I'd probably be nowhere."

"You got that right." Sonny smiled.

Before I had anything else to say back, Sonny grabbed my hand and led me into the orphanage where a bunch of younger kids stared at her with wide eyes and bright smiles. Suddenly, a chorus of little kids screaming, "SONNY!" charged toward us and all pushed and shoved each other to hug her legs. Sonny laughed in adoration, but I simply gaped in horror.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted happily. "This is my special friend, Chad, and he's going to help us today!"

"Special friend? Isn't he your boyfriend?" A girl asked, causing Sonny to laugh more.

"Ew! He's your boyfriend!" A few boys wrinkled their noses in disgust.

"Yeah, I'm her boyfriend. _Be jealous_." I sneered at the kids.

"Chad," Sonny chided. She was smiling at me, though, biting her lip to prevent her giggles.

We ended up doing arts and crafts with the little kids. And from the moment I sat down in the activity room up until now, all I've heard was, "Chad, can you help me glue this?", "Chad, can you fold this for me?", "Chad, can you cut this for me?", but mostly, "Chad, don't be mean to the kids!" from Sonny. And I thought my director was demanding.

I swear I was ready to go insane from this day.

I then felt something plop onto my head. "What are you doing?" I asked one of the kids whom set the paper hat made out of red, white, and blue paper against my hair.

"It's for you! You helped me make it, so I decided to give it to you!" he said proudly.

As much as I wanted to take the hate off, I didn't have the heart to. "Well, thanks, buddy," I smiled at the little tyke, ruffling his hair. I felt an unexpected change as I adjusted the hat on my head and helped the same boy make another one for himself. Well, maybe this volunteering thing isn't as bad as I thought it'd be.

"Does it have to be red, white, and blue?" He asked as we cut the paper.

"Dude, it's the Fourth of July. You'd be just un-American if it wasn't." I told him, feigning seriousness.

"Okay, fine. But we're just making something blue later! It's my favorite color." He said enthusiastically.

"Hey, me too." I grinned.

"Cool, we can be, like, best friends then!"

"Yeah, that'd be awesome." I told him sincerely.

From across the room, I saw Sonny smiling at me, her face illuminating, before going back to help a girl make a flag.

It wasn't long enough until most of the kids were huddled around me, yelling at each other because they wanted to spend more time with me. Honestly, why wasn't MacKenzie Falls more of a kid show again? These kids are great! I mean, they all love me. What could be not great about that?

"Chad, you have pretty eyes." A girl said to me.

"Why, thank you." I smiled at her and winked. "My girlfriend thinks so, too." I told her in a quiet tone, as if we were sharing a secret.

"I heard that!" Sonny said.

"Well, it's true!" I said back.

"It is, Sonny! His eyes are really pretty!" Another girl said.

"Okay, guys, I think you've given Chad here a bigger head, if that was possible. We don't need to feed more onto his ego with the compliments." Sonny said, coming to my side.

"Don't be sad, Sonny. Sure, these little guys love you, but they just decided to love me more. There's no need to insult me because of your insecurity." I teased her.

"I liked it better when everyone here thought you were gross." Sonny joked before sitting next to me and helping me out with the rest of the group.

"We don't think Chad is gross! We think he's pretty!" The two girls who talked about my eyes said together.

Sonny burst out laughing. "Actually, no, I think I like it better when they the you're pretty instead of gross, Chad." She said in between her laughter.

"Girls, I'm not pretty. I'm the hottest guy ever, and!-"

Sonny's annoying ring tone cut me off, though. "Oh, it's my mom. I'll be right back, Chad. Think you can handle the kids?" She asked me as she headed toward the door.

"Yeah, sure. What's too hard to handle anyway? Remember, they adore me." I smirked.

"Psh, adore you. Yeah right." Sonny shook her head before talking her call in the hallway.

"Hey, have you guys ever watched MacKenzie Falls?" I asked the kids while Sonny was away.

"No, what channel is it on?" One of them asked.

"Stuff like CW, TNT, or Fox." I answered.

"Oh, no. We aren't allowed to watch shows like that! We're way too young! But we watch So Random! every week just for Sonny!" They told me.

"What a shame. You guys would have loved The Falls." I sighed in disappointment.

"We like Disney Channel though!" A girl piped up.

I rolled my eyes but smiled. "Of course you do."

"Hey, Chad," another little boy tugged on my shirt. "I have to go the bathroom." He said while uncomfortably shifting from foot to foot, looking like he had to go _soon_.

"Well, go. You don't need my permission." I gave the kid an odd stare.

"Yes, I do need your permission! What if I go without telling you and then you think I got lost and you start freaking out and-"

"Dude, just go pee before you explode in your pants." I shooed the boy, not wanting a mess.

The boy ran out into the hallway where the bathroom was located and made it in time. A few minutes later, he came back in, looking relieved as ever, but there was a worried look on his face. "All better?" I asked him, laughing a bit.

"Oh, yeah. But I think there's something wrong with Sonny." He told me then glanced at the door once before looking back at me with the same uneasy look.

"What? What's wrong with her?" I asked.

"I don't know. She just looked really sad when she was talking on the phone with someone." He shrugged.

"Okay, guys, I'll be right back!" I told the kids as I walked over to the door.

"But you can't leave us alone without any supervision!" Someone said.

"You guys will be fine. Just don't use the scissors without me…or glue each other to your friends or something."

Before another kid could say anything to that, I was already out the door, looking for Sonny. I found her at the end of the hall, leaning against the white walls, looking absolutely crushed. She heard my footsteps and turned to face me so that we were staring at each other eye-to-eye. And from the look in her eyes, I could tell that she was absolutely devastated.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked her carefully.

Sonny wordlessly nodded her head.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" I offered nervously, scratching the back of my neck.

"It's just…" Sonny sighed. "My mom called to tell me that my dad's not going to come out here to celebrate the Fourth of July with us this year. I mean, I was so excited because I was finally going to see him after what felt like years and now… disappointment. Nothing but disappointment."

"Um, you're not gonna cry, are you?" I asked Sonny awkwardly. I realized it wasn't the most considerate question when she glared at me. "Sorry it's just… I'm not good with tears, and I don't think I'll enjoy seeing you cry." I told her.

"I'm not gonna cry. Oh, God, no. This is not worth crying over. I kinda expected this too, honestly. My dad has been ignoring us every since Mom and I moved out here. It's almost like I don't even know him anymore." Sonny frowned.

"My dad's not going to celebrate Fourth of July with us either. It's no big." I shrugged.

"How can you say that? He's your dad. Don't you miss him?" Sonny asked incredulously.

"You see, you're not used to the whole fatherless thing. Your dad hasn't been speaking to you regularly for a few months while I pretty much see my dad three times a year for as long as I could remember. I'm pretty numb to it." I said.

"Oh, Chad, I'm so sorry," Sonny buried her face into my chest and embraced my stomach. I rested my chin on her head and circled my arms around her waist, like I've done so times before.

"Hey, don't be sorry. I'm used to it, remember? Plus, the kids who actually live here have it worse. Half of them probably never even met their dads." I told her.

"I'm so selfish." Sonny said. "Oh, my God! I'm the most selfish brat ever!" She whined.

I rolled my eyes. "No, you're not. You're just being overdramatic, and that's my job."

I heard Sonny laugh silently against me. I sighed and felt the strong need to kiss her, so I kissed her forehead this time, my eyes closing as my lips lingered against her skin. I don't know what came over me, but I just wanted to hold her like that. It was so peaceful right now despite our Daddy issues and that heart-to-heart talk we just had a few moments ago. It was just so quiet and I didn't want it to end.

"Help! There's glue in my hair!" One of the girls yelled out into the hallway, instantly snapping me and Sonny back into reality.

"You left the kids alone?" Sonny said, pulling away, giving me a look.

"Well…yeah, but-" I started, but was interrupted by a terrified shriek.

"Someone put glue in my underwear!" A boy screamed at the top of his lungs, sounding like he was ready to cry soon.

"Hold on! We're coming!" Sonny called out. We weren't able to even make it back into the room, for the girl and the boy ran to us with their complaints. Sonny helped the girl get glue out of her hair and I had to take the boy (who was pretty much crying his eyes out) to the bathroom to rid him from the glue in his boxers. As much as hilarious the situation would have been, the fact that _I _had to clean it just ruins everything.

"I told you guys not to play with the glue." I said, handing the boy toilet paper for him to blow his nose into.

"N-no! You said that we can't glue ourselves to each other! You never said anything about putting glue down my butt! If you made better rules then we wouldn't be in here!" He wailed, looking ready to throw a tantrum.

"Okay, shhh. No need to get upset." I hushed him. "It's almost over." I promised him.

"Chad, you almost done in there?" Sonny called out.

"Yeah," I called back.

Sonny walked into the bathroom, giving the little boy a sad look. "Aw, sweetie, are you okay?" she cooed him.

"No, I'm not, and you're not supposed to be in here! You're a girl! And this is the boys bathroom-"

"And you're done." I said, relieved to hear that the crying and whining has finally stopped. I don't think I have ever been annoyed by any child - or anybody, actually - as much as this boy has irritated me. He was, hands down, worse than Dakota Condor, and that's saying something.

He sniffled, looking like he was ready to cry again. "I didn't like that at all." He complained.

"Oh, honey, it's okay." Sonny carried the boy back into the activities room with sympathy while I trailed behind her crossly.

We walked in to see the room a complete mess, covered with, wow, _glue_, and random pieces of felt and paper sticking all around. Hmm, maybe I really should have been more specific when I left the room to a bunch of kids under the age of seven…

"What in the world is going on?" A voice asked. Sonny and I turned to see the director of the orphanage, staring at us with an unimpressed look on her face.

Sonny set the boy down before looking at me, hoping that I had an excuse to this. I stared back at her and shrugged. She looked back at the director helplessly, knowing that we were probably going to end up getting kicked out of this orphanage after today. And all we did was volunteer for God's sake!

* * *

"I still can't believe we're not allowed back in there." Sonny said for the millionth time. She groaned into her hands as we took the elevator back into her apartment suite.

"The lady said that we can't return until the end of summer. No big." I said calmly. "It's better than being permanently kicked out, don't cha think?"

"How is this supposed to make me feel better?" Sonny asked.

"I don't know. You're the positive one. You think of the bright side. Don't leave me with all this work." I said.

"First my dad and now the orphanage… what if the kids hate me?"

"They won't hate you, Sonny. God, here you are with the overdramatic thing again. You were more amusing when you were just a comedienne."

Sonny smacked my arm. "You're insensitive, you know that?"

"It's just pay back for not supporting me when I ranted about my newly found hate for that Lerman kid. I still can't believe he beat me for the role of Spiderman, ugh."

"You're just jealous." Sonny smiled for the first time since we hopped into my car and drove back to her place.

The elevator doors opened and we continued to bicker lightly until we walked into room 204. We stopped to see Connie walking around the house, looking depressed. She was cleaning out the Fourth of July decorations she put on earlier as weird 80s music played in the stereo. I looked at Sonny, who was clearly not happy with how her mother was acting.

"Mom, why are you taking those down? We can have our own little party." She said, trying to make Connie feel better.

"Oh, Sonny. I didn't notice you were there. Hi, Chad." Connie said absentmindedly as she tugged on the streamers until they fell to the floor.

"Um, hi, Mrs. Monroe." I mumbled.

"Mom, come on. Don't do this." Sonny sighed, folding her arms.

"I'm not in the mood, Sonny." Connie said, trying to dismiss her daughter.

"It's not like we can't still have a party, right? Maybe we can even go to one! Like, um, uh, Chad's mom is throwing a party tonight!" Sonny blurted out, remembering the plans I told her earlier. "He said we could go if we'd like! Doesn't that sound fun?"

Connie frowned and rubbed Sonny's arm affectionately. "As sweet as that sounds, I don't think I could go. Sorry, honey." Then Connie continued with the rest of her work.

"But, Mom," Sonny said, knowing that she wasn't going to win this.

"Why don't you just go with Chad? I won't mind, I promise." Connie smiled slightly.

"I don't know…" Sonny said unsurely, giving her mother a very concerned look.

"Go and have fun. Celebrate America with the Coopers." With that, Connie left our sight and walked into her room, leaving before Sonny could think of another word to say after that.

Sonny turned to me and exhaled a deep breath. "I guess I'm going to meet your mom tonight then, Chad." She gave me a small smile.

* * *

**A/N: **Next chapter Sonny meets Mrs. Cooper :D I'm trying to make Chad act like himself since I love him being conceited and all that xD I hope he still acts like that on the show even though he's dating Sonny... But whipped Chad is funny too. (: I'm not good with writing Sonny though, so sorry about that :P I'll try to update sooner, but if I don't, just blame the evil that is summer homework.

Oh, and if you're a fan of Nalex/Nelena then go and check out this collab story I made with my amazing friend Hayley aka mindless scribbles! The link is on my profile!


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